The Legend of Zelda: Stolen
by TwiliRupee
Summary: Post-TP. Sequel to Twilight's Return. Treason runs high in the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Twilight Realm when the children are captured in the middle of the night. Who is responsible for this? A Hylian? Twili? Or both? Sequel is now posted.
1. Prologue

**Prologue  
><strong>"Presenting their Majesties Link and Midna, King and Queen of Twilight!"

Their Majesties of the Twilight, hand in hand, entered the large ball room of Hyrule Castle as their names were announced to the public. Link, Hero and King, scanned the crowd before looking at his wife, who was heavily pregnant with their first child.

"I think I saw them over there," Link said, gesturing over toward the far side of the room. The people in question were their best friends Princess Zelda of Hyrule and her fiancé Matthew. Their wedding and coronation was to be the next day, and the wedding guests were gathering to have a dance before the ceremony. Link and Midna slowly made their way through the crowd, greeting people they knew, until they reached their friends.

"Oh, I'm so glad you could make it," Zelda said, hugging Midna happily like she would a sister. Link and Matthew exchanged their greetings as well.

"Let's go sit down so we can talk," Midna said. The others agreed, knowing not to keep the Twilight Queen on her feet for to long. They found an empty table and sat down.

"So how have things been in the Twilight Realm?" Matthew asked.

"Exhausting," Midna answered. Link laughed and received a teasing glare from his wife. Midna turned to Zelda. "The thing I found is that men have no sympathy or understanding for the trials of pregnancy." Her voice held a note of teasing in it, and Zelda and Matthew laughed.

"I have sympathy," Link said, look of mock hurt on his face. "Because you wake me up every morning."

Midna rolled her eyes. "No sympathy," she repeated jokingly.

"Other than that, everything's great," Link said, answering Matthew's question.

A few wedding guests came up to Matthew and Zelda, greeting and congratulating them excitedly. Link took the moment to look at Midna, who seemed uncomfortable. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"Link, I'm fine," Midna replied. "I'm just tired. But the baby's kicking up a storm. It seems restless."

Link grinned. "Let's just hope the baby decides to wait until after we get back home." Midna nodded.

The wedding guests went on their way and Matthew and Zelda turned back to their friends.

"Are you still dealing with Zant's followers?" Zelda asked. Zant, the Usurper King of the Twilight Throne, had left behind a score of followers who had not stopped giving trouble to Midna and Link since the villain had been defeated the second time two years ago.

"Once in a while," Midna replied. "We have the most dangerous ones locked up though."

"Well," Matthew said, "let's just hope they don't get out...or it could spell disaster for both our countries."

But that was exactly what one Twili was doing: planning his escape. He was considered the most dangerous of Zant's followers. His tracking abilities through both magical and non-magical means was unparalleled. He hadn't used his magic much when he was free, but when he did, it was powerful, more powerful than his master's magic.

Already he had been in this prison for two years, his arms chained to the wall and a magical field around his cell to prevent him from escaping via warping. It seemed, this Twili discovered, that the magical field suppressed any magic controlling whatsoever. But he was patient. He observed the field, and noticed it did not go up to the top capacity when a guard brought him food. So he put his plan into action, storing up as much magical energy as he could during these lapses in power so that he would be able to escape not just the cell he was trapped in, but the whole prison, too. Then he would be free to punish the ones who mocked him and got him trapped here in the first place.

For two years, this had been his routine and would be until he got to full power. Months and years passed, and he caught snippets of news from the world outside this prison. He heard that the Queen of Twilight had given birth to a princess, and, three years later, to a prince. He heard that the light world and the Twilight Realm had allied so closely that they became sister countries and that visitors occasionally went to and fro between the dimensions. Years passed, and finally, the Twili knew his escape would be at hand the next time a guard came to give him his food...twelve years since his imprisonment.

He waited with baited breath, not daring to waste any of his precious energy. His head hung, and he took on the appearance of someone close to death. He heard the footsteps of the guard, and readied himself. As soon as he heard the door open and the magic field drop, he released his well-earned magic, heating the shackles around his wrists, looking up at the guard with menacing eyes. The air thrummed with his magic and the guard took a step back, ready to call for help. The prisoner activated step two, sending a bolt of magic at the guard and knocking him out. But the commotion was not unheard. Guards began running toward his cell, holding their weapons ready. The prisoner strained against his glowing red shackles, pulling with all the physical strength he had and felt them give. With a shout, he broke free of the right shackle, then the left one. Hot metal flew through the air, and the prisoner stood free. It was time for the final step.

Guards ran into his cell, but they didn't phase the prisoner. He gathered much of his magic to him and let loose a shock wave of magic, similar to that of his master's so long ago. The shock wave sent the guards flying backwards and blew a hole in the wall where once the prisoner had been chained.

The prisoner picked up a fallen guard's spear and jumped out of the hole, breathing the pure Twilight Realm air for the first time in twelve years. He looked around. The prison was on the outskirts of the Palace Village. With a sinister laugh, Dredloc warped to the Mirror of Twilight, the connection point between the dimensions, and entered the light world, knowing that there would be no one there to stop him and his revenge.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: I know this may be confusing, but there's a serious time lapse here. It begins, with Link and Midna, two years after my other fanfic 'Twilight's Return' ends (before the prologue). Simultaneously with that wedding party the two attend, Dredloc is mulling over his escape plan yet again. Then, ten years pass, and, twelve years after Link and Midna and Zelda defeat Zant the second time and 14 years after <strong>Twilight Princess<strong>, Dredloc escapes and the story is started off officially._

_I hope that cleared up any confusion. Please, tell me what you think! Please? *Puppy-dog eyes* Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story and thanks for reading!_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One  
><strong>Link woke suddenly. Something had disturbed his sleep. Was it a dream? A noise? He didn't know. He lay there for a moment, enjoying Midna's warm presence pressed against his side, her arm over his bare chest. They were traveling back from an ambassadorial mission to another Twili tribe, a journey that had taken two weeks. They had left their children, Nellie and Andrew, back in the Palace Village under the watchful eyes of Midna's mother, Marietta, while they were gone.

Link watched the canvas of the dark colored tent waving slightly in the warm wind of the Twilight Realm summer, realizing how much he missed his children. He sighed. The silence of the camp outside the tent told him it must be still early, probably not full light Twilight yet. But he was restless now, wanting to get moving. He was eager to return back home.

Link slipped out from underneath Midna's arm, and she stirred. "You okay?" she mumbled, her eyes opening.

"Yeah," Link replied, kissing her cheek fondly. She stretched and rolled onto her back as Link stood to pull on pants and a shirt. "Go back to sleep," the Hero said. "It's still early."

"Then what are you doing up?"

"Not sure. I think I had a dream or something."

This made Midna more awake. "A dream?"

"I think so. But it wasn't anything big. I'm not cursed. I can have dreams without being cursed." The last two sentences were said to stop the Twilight Queen's worried expression.

"It just reminds me of what Zant did to you." Midna sighed, watching her husband finish dressing. The memory of the curse Zant, the evil usurping Twili, had placed on Link twelve years ago that had nearly killed the Hero with just two seemingly nonsensical words, giving him nightmarish dreams before hand, made her frown with sorrow. "I'm just worried, that's all."

Link bent over her, kissing her again. "Don't be."

Midna smiled and kissed him back before pulling the blanket over herself more and rolling back onto her side with a content sigh. "There is no way you can stop me from worrying, Little Wolf," Midna said softly, watching Link. Link only grinned. Midna closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

Link chuckled to himself and located his sword, buckling the sword belt on. He glanced one more time at Midna, thanking the goddesses he was lucky enough to have love for such an incredible woman and have the love she gave back to him, and slipped out the tent into the early light-Twilight day.

Despite the eleven years he had been King of the Twilight Realm, he still couldn't get his head around the fact that there was no night and day like back in Hyrule. There was dark Twilight – the equivalent of nighttime – and light Twilight – the equivalent of daytime – but he still occasionally called them day and night like a good light dweller would.

As he stepped out into the half-light of the Twilight Realm, he stretched his arms over his head. He went over to the camp fire where two of the Twili guards, Flyyn and Rathko were keeping watch.

"You're awake early, your Majesty," Flyyn said, nodding a greeting as Link joined them by the fire. The Twili guard was younger than Link by a few years, but he was one of the best of his age.

"I'm eager to get going," Link said. "Though traveling now would probably put Midna in a bad mood."

"Yes, her Majesty enjoys her sleep," Rathko added. The old guard had been doing his job longer than Midna had been alive, and he was still looking to serve more years. Such was his loyalty to the throne. "She always has, since she was but a child."

Link grinned knowingly. That was one of the things he had learned about Midna after they were married: she was not a morning person. But before, on their journeys together, he hadn't noticed. But things had been tense then. He stared into the fire, his thoughts going back to wonder what had woken him up, only to be brought out once more when Flyyn and Rathko began to talk. They submerged with their King into a conversation.

Finally, light Twilight dawned – _if it could be called dawn,_ Link thought – and the other members of the traveling party emerged from the tents. There were four other guards besides Flyyn and Rathko, then there was Link's chief ambassador, and the other tribe's ambassador and his young wife. They all emerged from their separate tents. Midna came out last, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the sleeve of her dress. She sat down next to Link, giving him a smile.

The talking continued during breakfast, until it was time to break camp. Tents were collapsed, bedrolls cinched tightly, cooking fires stamped out, and hestur fulgar – the horse birds that were the steeds of the Twilight Realm – were loaded and mounted. Soon, the group of ten Twili and one Hylian moved out, their destination the Palace Village.

Just after lunch, the village came in sight. But something was wrong. Smoke rose from one of the buildings on the edge of town, from what looked to be the prison where the most dangerous criminals were kept. Link and Midna exchanged a glance. That couldn't be good. Link turned to his guards. "Flyyn, Edgard, and Wyatt, come with me." The three guards nodded, and the four of them kicked their hestur fulgar into a faster pace.

Midna watched with worry as Link rode off toward the prison. But she didn't show it. She led the rest of the group into the village. The ambassadors departed for the Ambassador House where those representatives of the other tribes or countries resided. It was more like a complex of houses, made comfortable and large enough for the families of any ambassador.

The three remaining guards stayed with Midna as she wound her way through the streets, finally ending up in front of the house that was the home of the Twilight Queen's mother. Midna told the guards to stay outside and she went in.

No one came to greet her as she shut the door. "Mother?" she called. No answer came. Fear filled her. What if some prisoner had gotten loose and attacked Marietta and the two royal children? Midna walked to the back of the house, looking for any sign of her family. She found them in the backyard, and gave a sigh of relief.

Marietta saw her first as she stepped out into the backyard. "Look, children, whose home," she said. Andrew and Nellie both looked up.

"Mother!" they exclaimed happily, running over to Midna. The Queen hugged them. Andrew, the younger of the two siblings, began telling Midna about an exciting trip Marietta had taken them on the previous day to the nearby lake for a swim.

"I saw the biggest fish!" the seven-year-old Prince said, stretching his arms out wide to the sides in an attempt to demonstrate the size. "It coulda swallowed me whole!"

"Nuh-uh, it wasn't that big," Nellie said, crossing her arms. "I saw it too."

"Yeah, it was."

"There aren't fish big enough to swallow someone. Are there, Mother?"

"Perhaps not here, but where your father comes from, there definitely are," Midna said, thinking on the fat fish-like toad that had attacked Link in the Lakebed Temple so long ago.

The two children thought about this with wide eyes, before Nellie spoke up.

"Where's Father?" the ten-year-old asked.

"He's coming. He had to see to something, but he'll be here soon. Now, go play. I need to talk with your grandmother."

The children nodded and went back to their game. Midna sat next to her mother, watching her children play. If it wasn't for the age difference, anyone would think that the Prince and Princess were twins. They had the same features, looking mostly Twili, save for their eyes, which they inherited from their father. Both children had Link's deep blue eyes, giving a smart contrast with the appearance taken from their mother. Nellie wore her red hair in a long braid, tossed in front of one shoulder. Andrew's scruffy red hair fell into his blue eyes, and he would push it back every so often, only to have it fall back. He would need a haircut soon, Midna decided.

"What happened at the prison?" she asked her mother in a quiet voice after a few moments.

"Some explosion around lunch," Marietta replied. "I don't know everything, but word has it that a prisoner caused it in an attempt to get free. Now, whether that attempt was a success or not is still a question, but it was pretty powerful magic."

Midna nodded. _Great,_ she thought sarcastically. _Peace is shattered._

"Don't worry," Marietta said, noticing her daughter's anxiety grow. "It's probably nothing."

"Probably." Midna sighed, praying for the best.

* * *

><p>Dredloc had never been out in the world of light, and it was a new experience in itself. He didn't like it at all, but it was better than being trapped in a prison for twelve years. He marched along the streets of the capital of Hyrule, Castle Town, pulling his hood low over his face. Perhaps there was a place to get some food. Some real food. Not that prison gruel he had lived on.<p>

Except there was one problem. He would need rupees. He didn't want to attract any attention to himself yet.

But how to get some rupees?

So engrossed was his mind in thoughts that he bumped into a young man.

"Hey, watch it!" the young man said. Dredloc stopped.

"My apologies," the Twili said, giving a slight bow

The man looked at him carefully. "You're Twili, aren't you?" he asked.

"Perhaps."

A look crossed the young man's face, one that Dreadloc didn't expect. "And you probably know Link, right? Him being King and all or whatever position he managed to grab. How is it that a lowly goat-herder could snatch up a Princess like that? It doesn't make sense, even if he is the Hero."

"Oh," Dredloc said. "I'm not to much of a fan of him myself. I think that the Twili should be ruled by one of their own race, not a Hylian, not a half-blood like his children. Of course, the Queen isn't any better."

The young man studied him for a moment. "I like the way you think, Twili," he said. "Come back to my shop with me and get a hot meal."

"Thank you, sir. The hospitality is appreciated. Might I know your name?"

"Malo. And you?"

"Dredloc."

The young man nodded, and led the man along the streets in the setting sun. As they entered a fancy looking shop in the center of town, Dredloc noticed the sign above the door. _Malo Mart!_ it exclaimed happily. _The Hero of Discounts!_

"I see you are quite the salesman," Dredloc commented, noting the music that played and the crowd gathered around the shop's counter.

"Thank you. I've been running this shop and the one in Kakariko since I was six."

"Really?" Dredloc didn't know where Kakariko was, but he was impressed.

Malo nodded.

"Ah, Mister Malo!" the shopkeeper announced with a delighted tone. "So glad you could come!"

"Close up early today, Malver," Malo said. "We've got company."

"Of course." The noise of the crowd dimmed away as they entered the back room of the shop, where a small kitchen was located. Malo fetched some food as he continued to mutter about Link's unfair grab at power. After putting food out on the table, he gave Dredloc an apologetic grin. "I've got a bit of a grudge against Link. Sorry for putting it all out on you." Dredloc shrugged impassively. Malver came in a moment later, looking tired but pleased.

"We made a great sale today!" he announced, joining Malo and Dredloc at the table.

"I hope it wasn't that magic armor I remade," Malo said as he began to eat. Malver stayed quiet, but it was obvious that this had been the sale. Malo heaved a sigh of annoyance.

"I apologize, Mister Malo, I had no idea you wanted to keep it just for display."

Malo wave a hand. "Whatever. It'll just take me another sixteen years to whip up a third one."

"This has happened before?" Dredloc asked.

"Yes. Link bought the first one. Malver, who bought it this time?"

"The Prince." Malver looked nervously at his boss.

"Prince?" Dredloc asked.

"Yeah," Malo replied. He waved Malver off to the front of the shop and continued. "Prince Matt. He's Zelda's eldest brat. In my opinion, I could rule better than Zelda or Matthew. Though don't go spreading around that I said that. Treason and all that."

Dredloc nodded. An idea was forming in his head. "Malo, you and I have similar views. Neither of us like the monarchs who rule us. If we team up, we could each get the kingdoms we want. You want to rule Hyrule, I want to rule the Twilight Realm."

"That sounds like a good idea except for one thing. We've go no army. How are we going to take the thrones of two different kingdoms?"

"I've got some friends."

"Yeah. Some. Not a lot."

The two thought hard. "What about a bargain?" Malo said. "Something precious for the thrones."

"Like what?"

"When I was young, all the children in my village, including myself, were captured and brought to Kakariko. It was then that I started Malo Mart, but that's beside the point. Once we were returned home, my parents had told me how they worried every second for me and that they missed me terrible. A child, I learned, is the most precious thing for a parent."

"You're suggesting we take the children of the royal families of Hyrule and the Twilight Realm?"

"Indeed. But perhaps on a larger scale? Maybe all the children of Castle Town and of whatever town is closest to the Palace."

"The Palace Village."

"Yes, that. We must capture the children, and put them somewhere no one would look, and then bargain with the Kings and Queens of both our realms for the thrones. Once they give them over, we'll return the children."

"But kill the ones with royal blood," Dredloc added.

"Kill? Why?"

"So that they won't come back. They're the heirs, and they will destroy our reigns."

Malo nodded, a proud glint in his eyes. "Dredloc, my friend, you've got yourself a deal!"

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: Malo's a traitor... who would've thunk? I never liked him anyway. Anyway, thanks to <strong>Fraya<strong>, **TheLoneWolfe90**, and **Catwolf109 **for the wonderful reviews on the previous chapter. I love reviews. They make me happy! Thanks for reading and tune in next Wednesday for chapter two!_


	3. Chapter 2

_Author's note: sorry for the delay on posting this. But I didn't forget (obvously). I had a busy day and I found a new fandom. **D.N. Angel.** I reccomend watching/reading that anime/manga. It's awesome. Anyway, here's the next chapter._

_I was surprised at how many people thought making Malo a bad guy was an unexpected idea, but think about it: Malo, in the game, is a bit too arrogant for his age. And when he finds out that Link marries a princess, he just get really jealous, despite the fact that Link paid for the Castle Town Malo Mart._

_As usual, thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter: Llwynog the Bard, Catwolf109, and Fraya. Thanks also to charland77, who reviewed the prologue the other day. Enjoy and tell me what you think! I always love to hear your thoughts on the story! ~TwiliRupee_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Two<br>**"Matt, what on earth are you going to do with that?" Zelda demanded, seeing her ten-year-old son with the magic armor he had bought earlier that day. They were in the main courtyard of Hyrule Castle.

"It looks cool!" the Prince of Hyrule said.

"It's real armor. Give it to me."

Matt sighed, but did as he was told. Zelda examined the armor. The craftsmanship was amazing, and it seemed like it was magic armor, the same kind that she knew Link had. "Where did you get this?"

"Malo Mart," Matt said.

"I thought so." Zelda sighed. "Listen. Just because you're learning to use a sword doesn't mean you can go out and buy armor like this. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mother," Matt said reluctantly. Then his face lit up. "So can I keep it?"

"No."

Matt sighed. "Go find your sisters and play," Zelda told him.

"But all they want to do is play house!" Matt protested. His two younger sisters, Natasha and Eve, had different ideas of games.

"Perhaps you can convince them otherwise. Go on."

Matt huffed, then his gaze shifted to something behind his mother. She turned to follow it, and saw the familiar green-clad figure standing there, with his son next to him.

"Am I interrupting something?" Link asked while Andrew gazed around at the castle with awe-filled eyes.

"No," Zelda said, smiling. "Don't worry." She noted Link looked tense, like he had some grave news. But the Hero looked down at his son with a smile. "Go explore the gardens with Matt for a bit," he said. "There's some nifty treasures around here."

Zelda smirked as the two children ran off. "You would know of treasures," she teased.

"Indeed. I told you about that creepy graveyard, didn't I? Full of re-deads and skeletons and all that pleasant stuff?"

Zelda nodded. "Nothing about re-deads is pleasant." She grinned. "So, what's with this visit?"

"I've got some news," Link said with a sigh. "One of Zant's followers has escaped."

"What? How?"

Link shrugged. "We weren't there when it happened, but we definitely know it's Dredloc who escaped."

Zelda nodded, frowning slightly at the memory of that Twili.

"I just thought you should know, in case he came to to world of light."

"Of course," Zelda replied. "Thank you." She smiled. "So, how is everything with that family of yours? I see Andrew's taking after you more than he takes after Midna, despite his red hair."

"Yes. Andrew's got an adventuring side to him. He practically begged me to bring him along." Link laughed slightly as she spoke. "And Nellie stayed home with the hope that Midna might be able to teach her some Twili magic."

"But can she learn?" Zelda asked, as they slowly walked along the gravel path in the courtyard. Andrew and Matt were nowhere to be seen. "She isn't exactly all Twili."

"Midna thinks she can, but we'll see."

They walked in silence. Zelda noted how her friend fidgeted with the handle of his sword, which hung at his side. His anxiety about the escaped Twili was great. But he didn't show it other than his constantly moving hand over his sword.

"What about you? How are things going?" the Hero asked.

"Good, though Matt thinks himself an expert swordsman already. And Natasha and Eve seem to be growing up so fast, though they have their egos in check."

Link laughed at that. "And Matthew?"

Zelda shrugged. "He's stressed. We both are. We're trying to solidify a treaty with a country that craves to wage war on us. Hopefully, the treaty will work, but the ever-present threat of an invasion coming to Hyrule...again hangs over everyone's heads." She sighed, glancing up at the sky. "Our longed-for peace is breaking, Link. How long before it shatters is unknown, but I know it will happen."

"And at the first cry of panic I will be there to help," Link promised. "As is the duty of the Hero."

Zelda merely nodded. She continued to walk slowly with Link by her side, both deep in thought until Zelda thought of something. "How'd you get here anyway? It's no easy journey from the Mirror to here."

Link grinned. "Let's just say Nellie's not the only one having magic lessons. Midna finally succeeded in teaching me how to warp...though I need practice. We nearly ended up in Snowpeak!"

Zelda laughed. "Lucky you didn't. How did she teach you?"

Link grinned. "Lots of long hours sitting and doing nothing but meditating. You know how all Hylians have that ability for magic?" Zelda nodded, and the Hero continued. "She got me to get at that magic and after that it was easy to warp."

"I thought you said you needed practice."

"Only in trying to find the right portal. I can warp just fine."

* * *

><p>"I found a place."<p>

Malo looked up from the papers he was reading. Dredloc stood before him, his red eyes visible underneath the hood he wore. "Oh?"

"Yes. It's hard to get to, unpredictable in location, and really perfect for our plan." The Twili's voice was proud.

"Where?"

"That wintery mountain...where the yetis live."

"Snowpeak?"

"Yes."

"But we can't trust the yetis."

"It's not the mansion they live in. It's a dungeon near it." Dredloc shook his head. "Shall I show you it?"

"Sure."

Dredloc focused. He warped the young man and himself back to the dungeon he had investigated. The icy wind whipped around the pair, but Dredloc led the way through a door hanging off its hinges into the sheltered place. True to the Twili's word, it was a dungeon. Cells lined the main aisle. Dredloc walked through, noting the snow falling through the holes in the ceiling. "Well?" he asked, turning to Malo and gesturing with his arms.

Malo nodded. "I must admit. This is pretty good."

"There's only one problem. Twili don't survive well in the freezing cold, like it is on Snowpeak. If we are planning to return the children, minus the royals, we will have to make it at least cold-proof."

Malo nodded once more. He could do that. He had enough rupees to do anything, such was the profit of the Malo Marts throughout Hyrule. This had been the second location Dredloc had found. The first had been unsuitable, but this one seemed near perfect. It just needed the repairs.

"I can get any materials you need here via warping, if only you provide them."

"I can do that." Malo began walking up the aisle between rows of cells. There was a back room too, one that seemed to be the guards' room, though there were holes in the ceiling. He liked this place, he decided. It would work perfectly.

* * *

><p>And so, days passed. Nellie, though with some difficulty, proved herself capable of preforming the smallest of Twili spells under the guidance of her mother. In time, Midna knew, her skill would improve. And despite the good news of Nellie's training, Link could not shake the fact that the peace of both Hyrule and the Twilight Realm balanced on a knife's blade. One wrong move and they could fall into confusion and war once more.<p>

And the reports of two more missing prisoners – two more of Zant's most trusted followers – didn't help. But the anxiety wore off as a month passed and another with no word of anything other than the missing prisoners. Link had no choice but to continue living as he had been.

As dark Twilight came once more in the Twilight Realm about two months after the news of the escaped Dredloc, Link looked up from a book he was reading in their bedroom at Midna, noting something different about her.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

Midna only shrugged. "I'm just tired," she replied before laying down on the bed, burying her face in her pillow. Link closed his book and stood. He sat down on the bed next to Midna, who mumbled something into the pillow.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Link asked, half-teasing. Midna looked at him from the corner of her eye.

"I don't feel good," she muttered, lifting her face enough so that she could relay her message to her husband before letting her head flop back down. Link bent over to kiss her before lying down. "Just go to sleep," he said. "I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."

Midna looked at him. "You crazy light-dweller, we don't have morning here."

Link grinned. "Light Twilight...or whatever you call it."

Midna rolled her eyes. "You should know by now, my Hero," she muttered. Link moved closer to her, kissing her forehead.

"I'm just a crazy light-dweller. I don't think I'll ever change."

Midna laughed slightly before giving a weary sigh. Link told her again to go to sleep. She shifted onto her side, closing her eyes. Link kissed her one last time, getting a smile from her, and settled down to sleep. Soon, they both were blissfully dreaming.

Even then, Link could sense that Midna wasn't sleeping well. Half-awake, he made a decision to take her to the doctor when light Twilight came.

After several hours of this, he was startled awake by the Twili jumping up from the bed and rushing from the room. He opened his eyes, feeling a pang of concern. After a minute or so, she returned to the room.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Link asked her as she sat on the edge of the bed uneasily. She looked at him, and the glint in her crimson eyes gave the answer away immediately. He sat up. "No way," he said, almost disbelievingly.

"Yup," Midna said, only half-brightly. "You're the proud dad of another kid."

Link shook his head, grinning and drawing her close. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Well, then, it's a cause for celebration, isn't it?"

"Probably." She sighed, leaning back against him.

"Are you feeling better now?" Link asked softly after a few moments. Midna nodded wearily, her eyes half closed. They stayed like that peacefully until full light Twilight came on, and they were disturbed by a desperate knock on their door.

Link and Midna exchanged a glance. Link went to the door and opened it, seeing one of the attendants.

"Your majesties, the Prince and Princess were not found in their beds," the attendant said, his voice betraying his worry.

"What?" Link asked in disbelief. Midna was by his side in a flash, her weariness being shaken off.

"They weren't there. The guard outside their rooms was knocked out. I don't think he has woken yet." He motioned for the monarchs of the Twilight Realm to follow. They hurried through the hall, dreading what they were going to see. They came upon two guards trying to wake a third.

Link stepped into Andrew's room and saw that the young Prince's bed was empty. A single piece of paper sat on the floor. He picked it up and read the note scrawled across it before turning back to the door and seeing Midna looking devastated, her hands over her mouth.

"Your Majesty, he is waking," one of the guards announced. Link walked out of the room, crumpling the note in his hand. The guard that had been knocked out was now pushing himself into a sitting position, and Link recognized him as a rather young guard named Senk. He saw the Hero and bowed his head shamefully. "Forgive me, your Majesty," he said.

"Just tell me what happened," Link said.

Senk nodded. "It was probably a few hours before light Twilight, and was a standing guard like usual. Two cloaked men came up the corridor. I questioned them to see why they would be here at such an odd hour, but one disarmed me and knocked me to the ground. I think that's when I hit my head, but then again, everything's blurry after that. They went into the children's rooms and..." He shook his head. "I think I blacked out after that, because I don't remember seeing them leave."

"Do you know what the men looked like?"

"Only the one who attacked me. He was Hylian. I assume the other was Hylian as well."

"But the Hylians are our allies," one of the guards said. "Why would they kidnap the Prince and Princess?"

Link shook his head. It didn't add up. Especially the note, which, though written in Hylian, had a distinctive Twili touch to it.

"Your Majesty," another guard said as he walked up to the scene. "The spokesman from the Palace Village is here. He wishes to speak with you."

Link nodded. "Get Senk to the infirmary. And tell the spokesman I will speak with him shortly." The guards hurried to obey, and soon it was just Link, Midna, and the attendant left in the hallway. By this point, Midna had covered her face with her hands, shaking with silent sobs for her children. Link dismissed the attendant and led Midna back to their room.

"What does the note say?" the Queen asked with a shaking voice as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

Link hesitated as he smoothed out the ransom note, before speaking in an equaling shaking voice as he read the letter aloud to Midna. "_If you ever want to see your children again, you will be at Kakariko Village in Hyrule at sundown, five days from now._"

Midna stared at him, tears filling her eyes. Link sighed and quickly changed into more presentable clothes. "As soon as I'm done talking with this Twili from the Palace Village, I'm going to Hyrule and figuring this out."

"I'm coming with you, then," Midna said.

"But-"

"I'm coming with you. I'm going to give whoever it was a piece of my mind."

Link looked at her for a moment. Then he nodded. "At least rest for now. I'll come back when I'm done." Midna nodded. Link kissed her quickly before leaving the room. He walked down the hall, trying to figure out who could have done something like that. He had originally suspected one of the Twili who had escaped the prison, but Senk's testimony that the attacker had been Hylian...it didn't add up.

He entered the throne room and noticed that the spokesman for the Palace Village seemed really upset. "What can I do for you?" he asked as the Twili bowed to him.

"My lord, the children of the Palace Village have been taken," the Twili said. "At least thirty children have gone missing, ranging from ages four to seventeen. A note was left in each house...the same note each time." He offered Link the crumpled piece of paper, which said simply: _Blame the ones you call King and Queen._

Link studied the writing. It was the same as the ransom note he had found.

"What is going to be done, my lord?" the Twili asked, not daring to follow the note's suggestion. "The Twili are upset. Many don't believe that you and her Majesty Midna caused it, but some are too emotional that they will place the blame on anyone, including you both."

"This is upsetting indeed, but I am already planning to take action on this," Link replied. "My own children were kidnapped as well, most likely by the same group. Don't worry, I will make sure the children return safely."

"Thank you, my lord," the Twili said, bowing. He took his leave and left the room. Link stared at the note placing the blame on him and Midna, and then looked at the ransom note, comparing the two. Yes. He was sure now that the two were written by the same hand. He sighed, harshly reminded of when the children of his village so long ago had been captured. He thought with horror, _This is just like Ordon all over again!_


	4. Chapter 3

_Author's note: Woo another chapter! *points downward* I've got some stuff to tell you at the bottom, so please, go read the Author's note down below after the chapter..._

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>  
>Link went down to the kitchens of the Palace to fetch some food before heading back to his room. When he arrived, he found Midna sound asleep on the bed. Link grinned and he gently woke her. "Do you want to eat?" he asked as she sat up. She nodded and he handed her some breakfast. They ate in sad silence, not daring to speak in case their tears would be let loose. Once they had finished, Link spoke up, breaking the silence. "Go back to sleep. We'll leave in a few hours."<p>

Midna nodded. She laid back down, closing her eyes, falling asleep instantly. Link watched her for a moment before settling down in a chair and picking up the book he had been reading the night before. He tried to read a few pages, but the words didn't soak in. He had never been much of a bookworm anyway. He was a man of action...or so he thought as he closed his eyes, trying to push away his fears for his children. He drifted off into sleep, not even realizing that he had done so.

A few hours later, he woke with a start. He stood and stretched before sighing sadly as he gazed at Midna, who was still sleeping. He went over to her and kissed her. Midna opened her eyes slowly, and looked up at Link.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty," the Hero teased. Midna rolled her eyes, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Are you ready to go?"

"I guess," Midna replied, sitting up. Link hugged her tightly, wishing the sadness to just disappear. Midna hugged him back, tears falling from her eyes onto his green and black tunic.

"Come," Link said eventually. "Let's get going."

Within half an hour, they were warping to Hyrule. As they formed in the Gerudo Desert in the Mirror Chamber, Link blinked against the harsh light of the sun and gave a small smile. He was becoming more and more of a Twili if he thought the sunlight was harsh. After a moment, Midna warped Link and herself to the portal nearest to the Hyrule Castle. They walked quietly along, picking up the shouts of a crowd in the town.

"I wonder what's going on," Midna said as she and Link entered the town. The followed their ears and the sight of a large crowd.

The crowd, apparently, was upset. Their shouts were angry and as Link and Midna entered the center of Castle Town, they saw the crowd gathered around the doors to the castle, several Hylian guards blocking any further progress inside.

"Link!"

The Hero turned at the sound of his name and saw Colin, one of Link's friends from his home village of Ordon, pushing his way through the crowd. The young warrior had recently married his childhood crush, Beth, who was also from Ordon. She, too, emerged from the crowd.

"What's going on here?" Link asked.

"The children of Castle Town have been kidnapped," Colin explained. "And they're all blaming the King and Queen. Only a few of us aren't angry: those who don't have any children, and those who know something else is going on." Colin motioned to a group of people standing off to the side, shaking their heads in dismay at the angry crowd. Link recognized some of his friends from the resistance group formed back when Hyrule was taken during the time of Twilight – Telma, Shad, and Ashei – while others were people he didn't know.

"Shad and Ashei are still upset though," Beth said. "Because their son and daughter have been kidnapped as well."

"Someone has it in for us," Midna said. Link nodded and quickly explained to Colin and Beth why he and Midna had come in the first place. "We're going to fix this," the Hero said once he finished. "Everything will be back to the way they were soon."

Colin and Beth nodded, assured now. If Link and Midna were on the case, there was no doubt it would be solved. They went their separate ways, Colin and Beth to stand with Telma and the others, Link and Midna to try to get into the castle.

They went along the outside of the crowd toward the blocked gates into the castle. When they finally reached the guards standing to bar the way in, one soldier stopped them. "No one's allowed in the castle, by order of the King and Queen."

"We need to get in," Link protested. "We're friends of the King and Queen."

The guard didn't seem affected. "His Majesty put emphasis on _no one_."

"Listen," Midna said, her temper flaring. "We've come all the way from the Twilight Realm to help, leaving our kingdom, which is in the same exact situation, and you are telling us that it was for no reason? Goddesses, are all the guards still as stupid as they were when I first came to Hyrule?"

Link put a hand on Midna's shoulder. "She doesn't mean that in a bad way," Link said, trying to smooth the edges of the insult. "If it makes you feel better, send word to the castle that the King and Queen of Twilight are here."

The guard sighed. "Fine." He turned to one of his underlings and barked the order. The soldier scurried off past the gate. Midna sighed with annoyance and impatience. Link took her hand, trying to get her to calm down. The soldier returned a few minutes later

"Their Majesties have given permission," he stated. The guards cleared a path long enough for Link and Midna pass through. The shouts of the crowd died down as they got further away from the gate.

Midna slowed to a stop, her face filled with sadness. Link stopped and turned to look at her. She sighed as Link embraced her. "I miss them, Link...I miss them so much."

"So do I," Link said. "So do I..."

* * *

><p>Nellie opened her eyes, feeling her head throb in pain. Where was she? Why was is to chilly? And...light? This wasn't the Twilight Realm. She knew that. Slowly she sat up. Her head spun, as did her vision. What the heck happened to her?<p>

After a few moments, the dizziness went away, and she was left with a throbbing head. She took the chance to look around her. She was in a cell in the light world. That much she could tell. Her brother lay next to her, still out. She shook him. "Andrew," she said desperately. "Wake up, Andrew."

The Prince slowly opened his eyes, panic overcoming his features when he realized what was going on. He sat up quickly, and held his head as the dizziness hit him.

"Where are we?" he asked.

"The light world."

"But where in the light world?"

Nellie shrugged in response. She hadn't been all over the light world. Just in some places.

The siblings peered out of their cell, feeling the chill of the dungeon. They couldn't see much. There were others in the cells near theirs, also children, but the one across from them was empty. An icy wind swept through the dungeon, causing them to shiver.

"I don't think there's a way out," Nellie said despairingly.

"Hasn't Mother been teaching you magic? Couldn't you warp?"

Nellie shook her head. "Mother never got the chance to teach me to warp."

"Dang." Andrew looked around again, his ears picking up the sound of a raised voice. A door opened and the voice got louder. Nellie recognized the voice, and her eyes widened. Five figures appeared, and Nellie realized that she and Andrew weren't the only royal children captured. Matt, Natasha, and Eve were kidnapped, too. Two hooded men ushered the three children into the cell opposite Nellie's while Matt continued to protest. "Let us go!" the Prince of Hyrule shouted, trying to free himself from the grip of one of the men. The man let go as he tossed Matt inside.

"Who do you think you are to treat the Prince and Princesses of Hyrule like this?" Matt demanded over the sobbing of his youngest sister.

"Silence," one of the men said, locking the cell with a wave of magic.

"I will not be silent! Let us go!"

The men ignored Matt and walked out of sight. A door clanged shut and all that was hears was Eve sobbing for her parents. Matt sighed, sitting down next to Eve and holding her close, trying to give his sister some means of comfort. "So, you, too?" he asked Nellie and Andrew.

"Yeah," Andrew replied. "How are we going to get out?"

Matt shrugged. "We'll think of something. After all, I doubt our parents would not stop looking until they found us."

Nellie sighed. "I hope you're right."

* * *

><p>Zelda leaned against Matthew, her hands covering her face as she sobbed silently, shaking with the effort. Matthew sighed and looked at Link and Midna. "I guess we're in the same situation, then," he said with a shaking voice that betrayed his sorrow.<p>

"Except you have a huge mob outside your gates," Link replied.

"I'm guessing the Twili handled it a lot calmer."

Link and Midna nodded. Matthew turned to Zelda, trying to comfort her while still talking to Link and Midna. "The guards say that they saw Twili entering the courtyard just before the children were kidnapped, and you say your guard saw a Hylian. Obviously, this group is trying to cause war to break out between our two kingdoms." The Hylian King sighed, holding Zelda close. "Give her a moment, then we'll go out and see if we can't stop this mob."

"Of course," Link said. He and Midna stepped off to the side, watching Matthew leaned close to Zelda's face, whispering words of comfort. Link looked at Midna, who seemed to be fuming. "I am going to pound whoever took Nellie and Andrew into the ground," the Twilight Queen said in a low but angry voice.

"You were were crying just a minute ago," Link stated with amusement.

Midna paused in her rant to consider this. "I blame the mood swings," she stated. "But really, whoever kidnapped them is going to pay."

Link shook his head as his wife continued to mutter. After a moment or so, Zelda and Matthew stood. Zelda wiped her eyes furiously, trying to stop the tears form coming. Her eyes were red from the tears, and she seemed to have no hope. Matthew pulled her close and the four of them went down to the gates to speak with the mob.

The crowd of Hylians shouted angrily when they saw Zelda, Matthew, Link, and Midna come out of the gate. The guards stood ready to stop anyone who would try to hurt them as Matthew began calling for silence. Eventually, the noise died down. Only the glares of the people remained. "Why do you blame us for this," the King asked, "when we are in the same situation? My own children were stolen as well! You think that we would take our children, too?"

The Hylians began to murmur with consent. After a moment, a man spoke up. "Then it was the Twili!" he shouted, pointing at Midna. "I saw a Twili take my son, who's barely five years old! And besides, they've bothered us before! Why not bother us again?" The man received shouts of consent that were soon turned to protest against Midna.

"How dare you blame my people?" Midna shouted back. Link put a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "We are no better off than you are!" But the Queen of Twilight's words didn't seem to stop the shouts.

"She's right!" Zelda announced. "The Twili's children have also been taken. Stop blaming them. There's another group messing with us."

The crowd quieted down once more. Link spoke up. "We have reason to believe that there is one group who took all the children, and is most likely made up of both Twili and Hylian."

"You blame your own race, Hero?" a woman shouted.

"Only those guilty of the crime," Link replied calmly. "It is unfair to condemn a whole race for the actions of a few."

The crowd began to murmur. After a moment, Shad, who had pushed his way to the front of the people, called out his question. "So, what are you going to do to get our children back? How are we going to stop this group?"

"A note was left behind," Matthew explained. "It demands a meeting with the leaders of the group. From there, we'll find the children and stop these monsters who decided to make war on two nations who have been so peaceful. This, we assure you."

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><p><em>Author's Note: So, as usual, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter: Catwolf109, Llwynog the Bard, and RheaTheWingedWhiteWolf. And, yes, Catwolf109, Dredloc will have a very merciless death. MWAHAHA!<em>

_*Ahem* Anyway, now for my announcement. I am going on vacation. I will have no internet access over the vacation. So, there will be no update next week, Wednesday the 15th. The next update will be Wednesday the 22nd._

_So, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed and I will see you two weeks from now with the next chapter! ~TwiliRupee_


	5. Chapter 4

_Author's note: I'm back from vacation! And I'm bringing along with me chapter four of "Stolen". *Holds over head* DA NA NA NAAAAAA!_

_Link impersinations aside, I would like to thank those who reviewed the previous chapter as usual: **TheLoneWolfe90**,** RyuzakiLaw1**, and **Catwolf109**. _

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<br>**Five days passed since Nellie was thrown into the cell. Five days of sitting there and waiting for something to happen. Five days of trying hard to perfect that one bit of Twili magic her mother had started to teach her.

She laid on her back, staring up at the stone and wood ceiling, bored. The light coming in through a window out in the hallway told her that it was the time of twilight...the time when she felt most at home...no matter how far away from home she was. She could tell Andrew was bored. Every so often, he'd toss a rock he had found up in the air, trying to catch it while still lying down.

"If that hits me," Nellie said as she saw the rock go up once more, "I'm going to get really mad at you." The rock clattered to the ground.

"Come on, Nel, I'm bored," Andrew protested.

"So am I but you don't see me tossing rocks into the air."

Andrew sighed and chucked the rock with all he had at the wall of their cell. It bounced off the wall and clattered to the floor between the two siblings. Andrew sighed again. Nellie looked at him. "I miss Mother and Father," he said with sorrow. "Do you think they're looking for us?"

"I bet they are," Nellie said. She looked back up at the ceiling. "They have to be," she whispered. A door clanged open, ruining the moment. Two hooded men walked up to their cell and Matt's cell. One unlocked the door of the cell Nellie and Andrew were in. "You, girl, you're coming with me."

"What do you want with my sister?" Andrew demanded, jumping to his feet. The man only shoved him out of the way and grabbed Nellie's arm.

"Let go of me!" the Twilight Princess protested, trying to free herself. She saw Matt being dragged away from his siblings as well. The two were pulled out of the cells. After the doors had been locked once more, the two men led the children down the hallway, passing cells with children of both the Twili and Hylian races. Those children who had the courage began shouting to let the Prince or Princess go. But the men ignored them, bringing Nellie and Matt to a large room and stopping. "What do you want with us?" Matt demanded, trying to break free of his captor's grip.

"Oh, it's not us," the man replied. "One of our leaders wants you instead."

"Hey, shut up, Malver!" the man holding Nellie demanded. "You want to give away the whole thing?"

The man holding Matt shook his head. After a moment, he spoke up. "What are we waiting for again?" he asked.

"The signal. It should happen any second now and we'll warp over there and...give them a show."

"Ah, yes." The first man nodded knowingly while the other shook his head in disgust. They were quiet. Matt and Nellie exchanged worried glances, hoping that they would still be alive after whatever was going to happen to them.

Finally, something happened. Another cloaked man warped in next to them. He gave a single nod and Nellie's world went black when the man warped her, Matt, and the two guards away...

Zelda sighed, staring out the window of the Kakariko Inn, waiting patiently for sundown. It was hard not to be so down when Midna and Link were locked in a teasing discussion like they were now. She shook her head and listened to Midna's lilting voice as she defended a name for their third child. "I think Nico is a perfectly reasonable name," she said. "It's neat, it's smooth, and it is perfect."

"Unless we have another girl," Link said. "Which in that case Nico would be absolutely absurd."

"Fine then. If it's girl, Nicole."

"We already have a girl whose name begins with "n" so why make it more confusing?"

"It's not confusing. Nellie and Nicole are two different names. But that's beside the point. I'm convinced this one is a boy."

"And how can you tell that?"

"I can, Little Wolf."

Link sighed. "Fine then, what about other names? We can't just have Nico or Nicole. What about, for a boy, Caleb...or Cody..."

"Or, for a girl, Liliana," Midna said wistfully. "Such a pretty name." The two were silent again, and Zelda smiled, amazed at the love between two people of two completely different races.

"Tell me, why are you so bent on having the child be named Nico?" Link asked after a moment.

"Because Nico was my father's name. Twilight King Nico. You should know that by now."

"Seeing as I never met your father, I should be given a little slack."

"We've been married for eleven years, Link, there should be no slack."

"Yes, but, to quote you the other day, I'm a crazy light-dweller."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"That's my excuse for getting out of some things."

Midna laughed. "Always trying to take the easy way out, huh, Little Wolf?"

"Alright, enough bickering, you two," Matthew cut in. "It's just about sundown."

"Yes, and now we get to meet those jerks who took our children!" Midna said fiercely. Zelda looked up as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Matthew stood over her, smiling.

"Are you ready, love?" he asked. Zelda nodded. Together with Midna and Link, the left the inn. The Hylian Queen looked up at the sky, which was turning from a dusky purple to a dark navy blue. It was sundown. So where was the leader of the group?

Zelda looked around the peaceful town and saw them, standing there, by the spirit spring, at the same time Link noticed them. The two led the way over, stopping several yards away from the two men cloaked and hooded in black.

"So you decided to show up," one said.

"Are you the ones who kidnapped our children?" Link demanded.

"Yes. We are. And we have a little bargain for you."

Midna's eyes narrowed as she recognized the voice. She took a step forward. "We don't make bargains with traitors, Dredloc," she said. "Give us back our children and maybe your pathetic life will be spared."

Dredloc gave a low laugh. "I thought you would say that. So I have a little incentive for you four." He turned to the other man next to him and nodded. The man warped away, leaving Dredloc by himself to face the monarchs of Hyrule and the Twilight Realm.

"And what is that incentive?" Matthew said, his voice icy.

At that moment, four people warped into the scene. Two hooded men and two children appeared, and Zelda didn't know what was worse, that both of the men were Hylian, or that they held her son and Link and Midna's daughter captive. Upon seeing their parents, the two children began calling out, fighting against their captors. Dredloc only watched with his red eyes narrowed before silencing Matt and Nellie. "Let the adults talk," he hissed.

"As you see, we have your children," the evil Twili stated. "As well as the rest of the missing ones you have been told about. And you will have the children back on one condition. Hand over the thrones of the Twilight Realm and Hyrule or...well, let's just say the children won't see the light of day again."

"You wouldn't dare," Midna said.

"Oh, I would dare! You see, Midna, if my friend and I," he paused to motion to the man who held Nellie captive, "don't get the thrones, you will have to pay the price of watching you children die before you. As it is...I'm in a merciful mood right now."

"Where the heck do you get these ideas?" Link demanded. "You've been locked up for twelve years!"

Dredloc laughed. "My _god,_ who shall soon be brought back and when he is he will kill you all, whether or not you have given over the thrones."

The man standing next to Dredloc looked at him, but kept quiet.

"So, do we have an accord?" Dredloc demanded.

"How about this?" Midna said, stepping forward. "You give us all of the children, we keep our thrones, and you go die in a hole."

Dredloc sneered. "What makes you think I'd follow your orders?" he demanded.

"What makes you think we'd listen to you either?" Link snapped.

Dredloc shook his head and pulled a black and orange dagger from its sheath at his side. He held the edge of the blade against Nellie's throat. "We have you children, fool."

"You leave my daughter alone!" Midna shouted. Dredloc pointed the dagger at the Twilight Queen instead.

"Very well. I'll bother _you_ instead." With a shout, he released a blast of magic, catching Midna off guard. She was sent flying backwards, hitting a hard rock and falling to the dusty ground, unmoving.

"Mother!" Nellie screamed, trying to break free once more. Tears fell down her face as she watched her father run to Midna's side.

Matt, on the other hand, though stunned, was able to give his parents some sort of thing to track them by. "Mother! Father! Find a Hylian called Malver!" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Dredloc warped him, Nellie, and the two guards away.

"You have a week to turn over the thrones before I kill every one of the children we have captured. Choose wisely, fools." And with that, the Twili warped.

Dredloc appeared in the guard room of the dungeon. He could hear the sobs of the Twilight Princess down the hall, and decided to ignore them. The door to the guard room opened and Malo strode in.

"Are you breaking your deal?" the young man demanded.

"No. I only mentioned Ganondorf to scare them. I, like my master Zant, don't follow him anymore. The deal is still the same."

"Good."

"No worries, my friend. Besides, you should probably get back to your shop."

"I think I will. Would you mind warping me?"

Dreadloc waved a hand and the young man dissolved in squares of black. The Twili sat down at the table Malo had built from the spare repair supplies. The guy was good at making stuff, that was for sure. He closed his eyes, hearing the sobs of the Twilight Princess, but his heart didn't go out to her with pity. No, he only shook his head and thought how weak the girl was.

But Nellie wouldn't call herself weak. She was young, and she had just seen her mother attacked. Any child who witnessed something like that would be crying.

Andrew tried to figure out what was wrong with her sister, but Nellie wouldn't say. Instead, he looked up at Matt. "What happened?" he asked.

Matt shook his head and quickly explained. Andrew's face seemed to grow paler when he heard of his mother's fate.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Matt said, seeing Andrew's stunned expression. Andrew nodded and sighed, hugging Nellie in an attempt to give her comfort.

And as much as the young Twilight Prince wanted to have hope, he felt his slipping away.

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><p><em>Author's note: DA NA NA NAAA! "You got a cliff hanger! Kinda. You can't do anything with it, but it's there anyway." Hee, hope you enjoyed it. Please, tell me what you think!<em>


	6. Chapter 5

_Author's note: So, sorry for the lateness. I've had a busier than usual week. As usual, thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter: **Llwynog the Bard** and **StoryTeller564**. Enjoy and tell me what you think!_

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<br>**

It hurt to breathe. That was the first thing Midna thought as she came to. She could barely breathe without a sharp pain flying through her ribs. _Oh, goddesses, what happened?_ she thought. So much pain…

But something else broke through the pain. A gentle hand on her forehead. A hand she knew so well. She opened her eyes to see Link next to her, his hand softly brushing strands of her hair from her face. She was on a bed in the inn in Kakariko. Link smiled softly. " What happened?" Midna asked painfully.

"You've got a broken rib, which a red potion should fix up nicely. Luda's gone to get one."

Midna made a face. She had taken a red potion only once before and it was not something she enjoyed. But she ignored this fact, instead trying to zone out of the pain. "Link," she said after a moment, her voice taking on a desperate tone. "What about the baby? What if the baby..?"

"Hey, hush. I'm sure the baby's fine."

Midna wasn't so sure. Was she to lose the only child she and Link had with them now? As she contemplated this grim thought, Luda entered the room. The healer handed the potion she was carrying to Link, and the Hero slipped his arm around Midna's shoulders, helping her sit up. Link put the cup with the potion in it to Midna's lips and as the Twilight Queen drank it, her expression turned from one of pain to disgust.

"Goddesses, that's disgusting!" Midna said. Link smiled a bit and let her shoulders go. Midna found that the pain in her ribs had dulled to only a slight throb, and the ache in her heart was able to show once more. "Luda, how likely is it that a baby would survive…?" She trailed off.

Luda gave a half shrug, but she understood. "Depends. From what Link tells me, you didn't land to hard on your front. But you can never tell. We'll see in time whether or not the child survived."

And with that, the healer left the room. Midna looked at Link desperately. He hugged her close.

"How long was I out?" the Twili eventually asked.

"Half an hour. Matthew left for Castle Town to try to find a man Matt told us about before he and Nellie were warped away. Hopefully, he'll lead us to whoever took the children."

* * *

><p>Matthew followed the man through the dark passages deep within the castle. The man was old, but he was good at what he did – keeping tabs on Hyrule's population of Hylians as well as any other records that were necessary to running a smooth kingdom. If anyone could find the man called Malver, this man would.<p>

"Here it is," the man said, stopping next to a large bookshelf piled with tomes of great size. He set the lantern down on a nearby table in the Royal Archives and pulled a book from the shelf. "This is the most recent one." This, too, he set down on the table, emitting a loud thud and a cloud of dust.

"How recent is it, Thahn?" Matthew asked.

"About four years," Thahn replied. "Now, your Majesty, what's the name you're looking for?"

"Malver."

Thahn nodded and opened the tome to the names starting with "m," scanning the small writing for the name listed. "Any idea which town?"

"No. I only know the name. Why, are there multiple Malvers?"

"No, no, I'm just making sure, your Majesty, in case there are." Thahn continued his search, running a gnarled fingertip down a column of names. "Ah," the old man said. "Here we are! Malver of Castle Town. He's the only one."

"Where does he live?"

Thahn squinted at the writing. "East Side. Number four. Says here he's a merchant and works at the local Malo Mart."

Matthew nodded, scribbling down the information on a piece of paper he had brought with him. "Thank you, Thahn, you've been a great help."

"Of course, your Majesty. Anything to help with finding the missing children is worth the time."

Once back in the rooms he shared with Zelda, Matthew stared at the piece of paper. This was their only clue, other than the Twili who Link had told them could not be tracked. This man, Malver, would be much easier to find.

The night wore on. Matthew remained awake, pensively contemplating what he should do if this man Malver was indeed a traitor to the throne of Hyrule.

Then abruptly, his thoughts turned to his son. He sighed wearily, sorrow biting at him. The look on Matt's face had told the King just how much the Prince was missing home, perhaps even more so now because of this craziness that had happened that evening.

With another sigh, Matthew put his face in his hands, and let the tears flow.

* * *

><p>Andrew woke to a loud sigh. He opened his eyes and saw Nellie already awake. "Whatcha doing?" the prince asked, sitting up in that chilly dungeon.<p>

"Practicing." That was Nellie's reply as magic flowed across her fingertips.

"Magic?"

"Shh!"

Andrew nodded, knowing what his sister wanted. She was going to get them out of here. The young prince watched the magic that gathered on his sister's fingertips grew into an orb, which quickly dissolved as Nellie cut the magic dead.

"I'm not strong enough," the Twilight Princess said. She sighed and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them.

"But you have to be!" Andrew said. "Your better at it than I am."

"That's 'cause you don't know anything about it."

"Exactly. And you do."

Nellie sighed again. _We're never gonna get out of here,_ she though with misery.

Andrew seemed to sense her thoughts. "Don't give up," he said with determination. "If Father had given up on his quest to save Hyrule and our home, those bad people would still be here and causing trouble. If Mother had given up her search for someone to help…she never would have found Father. If you give up…then we won't get out of here. Giving up is not in you."

Nellie looked at her brother. Then she smiled. "I won't give up," she said.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

And Nellie put all her concentration forward, determined to free herself and Andrew, and, in turn, all the children who had been captured.

* * *

><p>"You're sure this man works for Malo Mart?" Link asked Matthew as they left Hyrule Castle at noon the next day. Link, Midna, and Zelda had returned earlier that morning, and Matthew had told them of his discovery.<p>

"Very sure," Matthew replied. He and Link walked side by side through the town and entered the popular shop, which, like usual, was crowded. Shelves of goods lined the walls, and an almost insane atmosphere that Link had always disliked filled the room. As the patrons saw Matthew and Link, they stepped to the side, giving them a path to the front counter.

"Oh, hey, Link, your Majesty," Malo said, giving a slight bow. "What can I do for you?"

"We're looking for a man who works here," Link replied. "Malver."

"Oh, him. He's not my best employee, but yeah, he works here."

"Could you get him?" Matthew asked.

"He's left for lunch."

"When did he leave?"

"About fifteen minutes ago. If I may ask, why are you looking for him?"

"We have reason to believe he's a traitor, as well as being involved with the capture of the children and allied with a traitor to the Twili throne." These words made the shoppers go quiet, each one of them waiting to see the outcome.

Malo raised his eyebrows and tried to not make his tone of surprise sound false. "Really? I had no idea. I'll have to fire him for it."

The tone in Malo's voice annoyed Link. It always had since he had started Malo Mart so long ago, but now more than ever did it bug him. "If you don't mind, Malo, we'll wait until he comes back," Link said, biting back his annoyance.

"Sure."

The two Kings stepped off to the side to let to customers purchase their goods. "Has he always had such a haughty attitude?" Matthew asked in a low voice, knowing of Link's past with Malo.

"Since he could talk," Link replied in an equally low voice.

Matthew studied the young man for a moment before sighing. "Let's hope Malver comes soon."

Link nodded, but didn't reply. He watched Malo carefully, noting how he seemed to be overly stiff, even nervous as he dealt with his patrons. Every so often, he would glance at Link and Matthew. Link didn't like it, but he wouldn't blame his friend for anything without proof.

After fifteen minutes of waiting, the door opened and Malver walked in. "Hey, Malver," Malo called, seeing his employee. "You've got visitors."

Malver's gaze landed on Link and Matthew, and a look crossed his face, quickly covered up by a look of humbleness. The salesman stepped forward and bowed while the crowd in the shop watched. "My lords, to what do I owe this great pleasure?"

Matthew quickly explained, and as he did, fear filled Malver's expression. The whole shop when quiet again, putting Malver under even more preasure.

"B-b-but, my lords, I have done nothing treasonous! You are...charging me with this without evidence?"

"We didn't say you were guilty, Malver, only suspected," Link said. "Which means you will have to come to be questioned. Now."

Malver hesitated, then bolted for the door. Link and Matthew followed, as did the rest of the people in the shop. As they emerged from the brightly colored shop, the King of Hyrule called for the soldiers to help in getting the suspect. But the shopkeeper was agile and dodged any attempts at capture, that is, until Midna warped right in front of him, causing him to skid to a stop and fall to the ground.

By now, there were many who were watching the scene. Malver moved backwards as Midna glared at him, taking a menacing step forward. Soldiers caught up and hauled the man to his feet, making sure he wouldn't run off again.

"Where are the children?" Midna asked, her voice low and angry. The Twilight Queen saw Link and Matthew hurrying over, but a look from her stopped them. She turned her gaze back to Malver. "I'm waiting," she said, venom in her voice.

"I...I can't say. My masters would not allow it."

"And I'm guessing that one of those masters is a Twili by the name of Dredloc?"

Malver nodded.

"And the other?"

Malver hesitated. "I've sworn not to tell."

"Even when your life is forfeit, traitor?"

"It was a blood oath. He forced me so I wouldn't tell on him."

Midna narrowed her eyes. The blood oath was an ancient magical ritual, common to both Hylians and Twili. It was an oath sworn to another on the person's blood, and a magical bond would keep the secrets from being told. The only way one could get information out of another under the blood oath was to ask them simple yes or no questions, and the one bound was, by the oath, forced to answer truthfully. "Is he Hylian?" Midna asked, taking this course now.

"Yes."

"Does he reside in Castle Town?"

Malver hesitated once more. "It's not yes, but it's not no," he said. "Sometimes. Not very long."

"Is his main residence in Kakariko?"

"No."

Midna rattled off a few more names of the towns that had cropped up, each answered with a "no," until there was only one town left.

"Ordon?"

"Yes."

And at this, Link knew who it was. He stepped up to Malver. "The man you speak of is Malo?" he asked, almost regrettably.

Malver hung his head, defeated. "Yes, your Majesty."

Then there was the distinct sound of warping. Malo, who had joined by Dredloc, was warped away with his friend.


	7. Chapter 6

_Author's note: Couple things to say. Before I say them, however, I would like to thank those who reviewed, as usual: **Catwolf109**, **Llwynog the Bard**, **RyusakiLaw 1**, and **RheaTheWingedWhiteWolf**. Thank you all for your continued support!_

_Secondly, I hate to admit this, but I have not finished this story yet. In fact, this is the last completed chapter I have so far. I guess you could blame my other story "Hero of the Ocarina" for taking my attention away from this. Hopefully I will have the next chapter out soon!_

_Thirdly, this chapter moves rather fast. If you are confused at any point, please, feel free ask me any questions you have via PM or Review, and I will gladly clear up any and all confusion. Enjoy!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six<br>**Nellie huddled with her brother next to the roaring fire in the strange sitting room she and the other children had been shown to. She was exhausted, but happy, for the feat she had done was nothing simple.

She had broken them out. All the children from the dungeon.

They had not wanted to waste any time, and had left the dungeons, only to find themselves in the snow-covered land of Snowpeak Mountain. In no time, they had scaled a slope and come face to face with two large yetis, who called themselves Yeto and Yeta.

Both yetis had seen the similarity of Nellie's and Andrew's eyes to their father's and had greeted all the children into their large, yet dilapidated mansion, where Yeta had told them in her soft voice but with broken sentences how Link had helped them in the time of Twilight.

Now, as the children warmed themselves by the fire, Yeta stood off to the side, watching the children while her husband, Yeto, finished the soup he had started to make earlier that day. Soon, the large yeti beckoned the children into the kitchen, where the fish, cheese, and pumpkin soup was given to the children in bowls that seemed just right for non-yeti people.

"Yeto, do you think you could lead us down the mountain?" Matt asked after a few sips of the delicious soup.

"**No worries, little one! Yeto will help, uh!**" the yeti boomed in his loud voice. "**Little-little ones I can carry! Have basket large enough for little-little ones to ride in, uh!**"

And it was with those words that settled the plan. The next morning, with ten of the youngest children riding in a basket that Yeto had fashioned to sling over both his broad shoulders, they set off.

It was a tedious climb, and not one any of the other children ever wanted to do again. But, stepping in Yeto's large footsteps, they were able to make their way to the summit of Snowpeak by noon.

"**All down from here, uh!**" Yeto boomed. Matt nodded and looked around at his fellow children before falling in step with Nellie.

"I'm worried," he said. "It's so cold up here. We all could get sick from it."

"Sick with what?" Nellie asked, noting how a Twili her age sneezed just then.

"I forget what it's called. But you get it when you are out in the cold for too long."

Nellie sighed. "We don't have cold like this back home. The Twili will get really sick."

"I hope we make it then," Matt said.

It was clear that by the time the sharp downward slope leveled out some that it was not only the Twili who were getting sick from the icy environment. The Hylians were being affected as well. When they reached a large lake with frozen ice floes, Matt spoke up once more. "How much further?" he asked, shivering.

"**Just across cold water, uh!**" Yeto replied, leading the way around the half-frozen lake. A Twili stumbled, and he let himself fall into the snow unresistingly. Nellie ran over to him, trying to pull him to his feet.

"I can't make it," the boy said. "It's too cold."

"But you have to!" Nellie replied, trying to pull him to his feet.

"It's too cold," the boy repeated, shivering.

Yeto's large shadow covered Nellie and the Twili boy, and with one hand, the yeti scooped the boy up, carrying him toward the other side of the lake. "**Come, uh! Almost there!**"

Finally, thankfully, they reached a tunnel where Yeto stopped and lowered his charges to the ground. "**Zora village through tunnel, uh! Too warm for Yeto, but Zora will help, uh!**"

Supporting each other, the children stumbled into Zora's Domain and the warm, humid air.

They made it. They actually made it!

Several of the fish people swam over. "What's going on?" one asked. "Why were you in Snowpeak?"

"We were held captive there," Matt explained.

"Ah, the missing children!" several Zora exclaimed.

"We heard about that," another said. "Wait while I fetch King Ralis."

The Zora King sprung into action the second he heard of the news. He sent the Zora who had informed him to Hyrule Castle to alert the King and Queen there, and then went down to where the sixty-some children, most in the early stages of hypothermia, waited.

* * *

><p>"I just can't believe it," Colin said, shaking his head. He, Beth, Shad, Ashei, Link, Midna, Zelda, and Matthew had all gathered in Telma's Bar. Telma had closed it off to any other people for the evening. It was the day after Malver had confirmed Malo to be a traitor, and the news had stunned everyone.<p>

"I know," Beth said. "I didn't think Malo would be treasonous."

"But now he and Dredloc got away and we can't find where the children are," Zelda said. "We could try the guessing game again with Malver once more, but the man's been bothered enough as it is."

"Not bothered enough," Midna muttered. Link laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her down and she sighed.

"As strange as it may seem, I find it rather intriguing that the blood oath was used after so long a time," Shad stated.

"You would, yeah?" Ashei told her husband. "What with those textbooks you read."

"Enough of that talk," Telma said, bringing out some food and laying it on the table where the friends were gathered. She sat in between Colin and Link with a sigh.

"There's nothing else to talk about," Matthew said.

Silence reigned, and no one even bothered to touch the food Telma had set out. The looks on everyone's faces seemed to display the same hopeless expression. Then, there was a loud knock on the inn's door, making everyone jump.

Telma frowned and stood to go to the door. She had specifically placed a sign saying that the bar was closed to the public. So why would anyone be knocking?

The bar owner opened the door to a Zora messenger. "The sign says we're closed to the public," Telma said.

"I know," the Zora said. "But I'm not here for the bar. I have an urgent message from my King, Ralis of the Zora, for their Majesties Zelda and Matthew."

Telma stepped to the side, letting the Zora in. The fish being bowed and began to speak. "Your Majesties, I apologize for my interruption. I bring tidings from my King, and news." The Zora paused for a moment. "The lost children of the Hylians and Twili have been found. They are up in Zora's Domain. They were kept hostage deep in the Snowpeak territory."

The Zora finished his message. For a moment, there was stunned silence. No one could believe it. Was this a dream? It couldn't be, could it?

Matthew broke the silence. "We must leave for Zora's Domain at once."

* * *

><p>Andrew shivered, despite the warm air. He, like many of the other children, had gotten sick from the trek in the mountain. He lay face down on the soft grass next to Zora's River in Zora's Domain, coughing every now and then. He rolled onto his back, trying to find a fresh patch of grass to cool his fever. One of the several Zora, who were tending to the children, walked over to him and knelt next to him, placing a damp cloth on his forehead.<p>

"Rest, Princeling," the Zora told him. "Help is coming."

Andrew didn't know if he had fallen asleep after that or if he had just shut his eyes for a moment when he heard non-Zora voices. He had no energy to do anything but listen. Those voices that he heard coming nearer...they were his parents' voices! They had come!

But his joy was short-lived, for his fever-induced exhaustion pulled him into sleep once more.

When next the young prince woke, he was no longer on the grass, but in an actual bed, thick blankets covering him. Light shone brightly on his face, and he managed to open his eyes. As he did, he saw his father sitting by his bed, deep in thought as he looked out the window.

"Father," Andrew managed. Link noticed he was awake and stood to give him a kiss on his forehead. "Where are we? Where's Nellie and Mother?"

"Hyrule Castle. Along with the rest of the children." Link smiled. "Your sister is in the next room over, recovering as well. As for your mother...that is a very good question."

Andrew gave a tired grin. "When can we go home?"

"As soon as you're feeling better. Now, get some rest."

The Twilight Prince nodded. Link watched his son drift off into sleep, and softly stepped out of the room. He went to the nearest window and looked out at the courtyard where once he faced monsters of all sorts when he came to finish the evil once and for all. He heard Midna walk up behind him and give him a hug. "So, you're going, aren't you?" she asked, somberly.

"Yes. With Colin, Ashei, and Matthew. We're going to find Dredloc and Malo and put an end to this."

"I want to come."

"You should stay."

"I see no reason to do so."

"Because you can help tend to the children and keep the baby safe."

"What makes you so sure the baby survived?"

"We would have known by now."

Midna sighed. "I don't want to let you go by yourself. I want to be by your side."

"I know." They stood in silence, watching the sun sink toward the horizon. It was late afternoon, in those dreary hours when time seemed to slow considerably. The sun sank so slowly, it seemed. Link had forgotten just how dull these hours were before the swirling colors of the twilight hour. He had been spending so much time in the Twilight Realm.

"I hope you're right," Midna said, breaking the silence.

"About what?" Link asked.

"The child. That the child is still alive."

"Like I said: we'll just have to wait and see."

Midna nodded. She released Link from her hug and went to stand beside him. She stared out the window and sighed. "I must say, Link, this world is one of beauty. I forget that sometimes." She met his gaze. "It is truly beautiful."

* * *

><p>"Here we are: Cato, one of the finest Ordon-bred horses we have." Matthew led Link up to a stall in the royal stables. The horse, a chestnut Clydesdale stallion, peered out of his stall, munching on a mouthful of hay. Link extended his hand and the horse snuffled it for anything tasty. Finding none, he turned back to his hay.<p>

"I would say he likes me," Link stated with a laugh.

"Think he could survive a round of goat herding?" Matthew asked. Link laughed in reply. "He's a good, strong horse," Matthew continued, "and very well trained. He'll get you to Snowpeak easily."

Link nodded, stroking Cato's forehead. "Well then," the Hero said. "Let's get to it."

Soon, Cato and Matthew's own horse, a strong mare named Clara, were saddled and bridled. The two kings led the horses out to the castle courtyard, only to be bombarded by Midna and Zelda with their farewells.

As Midna hugged Link, she whispered in his ear: _"Mundu, Litla Uulfi, p'aouo sem eeg kenndi p'eer gaerkvooldi."_ Link grinned knowingly, understanding what she said. "And come back safely," Midna added in Hylian.

"I will."

After a quick kiss, Midna let Link go. The Hero mounted his horse, and nodded to Matthew, who was already astride his own. The two urged their horses into a swift trot. Link was surprised at Cato's eagerness to please, a trait that reminded Link of Epona, his first horse who he had left with his friends in Ordon after his wedding.

Midna watched them go. Then she and Zelda went back inside the castle. Midna went to check on her children. Nellie was awake, looking bored.

"Mother, I feel fine," the Twilight Princess protested as Midna laid a hand on her forehead.

"Your fever's gone," Midna said.

"Does that mean I can get out of bed?" Nellie sat up eagerly.

"Perhaps later on today. For now, just rest."

Nellie sighed and flopped back down on against the pillow. Midna smiled at her. "The more you rest, the faster you'll get better." Nellie nodded grudgingly and watched her mother leave the room.

Midna went to check on Andrew next. Unfortunately, he wasn't faring as well as Nellie. His fever hadn't even dropped, yet he shivered under the thick blankets.

Midna's concern for her son grew. Many of the other children, she knew, were recovering from the illness, but Andrew wasn't. She fetched a damp cloth, hoping that it would cool her son's fever. As she placed the cloth on Andrew's forehead, she sighed, wishing Link would hurry back.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Midna's words to Link are this: Remember, Little Wolf, what I taught you last night." What did she teach him? You;ll find out in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and don't hesitate to review!<em>


	8. Chapter 7

_Author's note: Here it is, here it is! The long awaited chapter seven! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and that it was worth the wait! Thanks to you all who reviewed: Llwynog the Bard, TheLoneWolfe90, RyuzakiLaw1, RheaTheWingedWolf, and Catwolf109._

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>  
>A blizzard was in full force when Link, Matthew, Colin, and Ashei arrived at Snowpeak Mountain. They could barely see where they were going.<p>

"How are we going to get through this?" Matthew asked above the noise of the wind that whistled outside the slightly sheltered tunnel that led back to Zora's Domain.

Link sighed. "I have a way. The first time I came up Snowpeak, it was a constant blizzard. But I got up anyway."

"How?" Colin asked, peering out into the snow. "You can't see anything out there."

"I didn't use my eyes, Colin," Link said. "I used my nose." The Hero ignored the curious gazes of his companions and merely said, "You can't tell anyone. Promise?"

Matthew, Colin, and Ashei nodded. Link reached into his pocket and touched the Shadow Crystal that was there, transforming into his wolf form. The others took a few steps back in surprise, but they said nothing. Link ignored them, sniffing the ground for any scents. He picked up the scent of the children, and of his giant yeti friend, and he followed those scents out into the blustering blizzard and began following them, glancing back at his companions.

Together, they set out across the frozen landscape. As they did so, Link couldn't help but remember the first time he scaled Snowpeak...

_Midna clung to his back. The imp buried her face in his fur, trying hard to stay on as wolf scrambled up a rock cliff, following the foul smell of the reekfish. "Link..." the cursed Twili said, leaning toward his ear. "Link, we have to find shelter. This storm is getting worse and I don't know how much longer I'll last in the cold."_

_Link glanced back a her, and lost his footing in the process. The slippery snow moved out from underfoot. With a surprised bark, Link dashed quickly up the falling snow, scrambling with all he had until he came to solid ground again, panting. He looked around, snow falling on him and Midna._

"_Link, please. It's really cold. We Twili aren't used to this kind of climate," Midna said. Link nodded and searched his surroundings. They hadn't passed any caves on their way up, so Link pushed on, climbing higher and higher. He could feel Midna shivering from the cold. Then he heard it: the distinctive whistling of a howling rock. He stopped and looked around once more. There! The gray snow-covered stone perched on a dangerous outcropping._

"_Link..." Midna said, leaning toward his ears again. "Link, it's really cold out here. Come back to it."_

_Link nodded once more and followed the reekfish scent until he came to a cave. It was small opening. Most of the cave had mostly filled in with snow. Link began digging until he burst through into the relative warmth. He looked at Midna and she gave a small smile, still shivering. She transformed him back to his human form and he stood, looking around. Giant ice blocks took up most of the room._

"_Let's move further in," Link said, looking at Midna, who had not yet gone back into his shadow. Without asking, Link scooped her up in his arms and held her close. Midna looked away, trying to hide her blush._

"_Warmer?" Link asked as he walked deeper into the cave._

"_You know, I think you'd warm me up faster if you were a wolf."_

_Link laughed. "Well," he said, stopping. "I think I'd have a pretty hard time getting through here as a wolf."_

_Midna followed his gaze and saw a ladder._

"Hey! Link! Slow down a bit!"

Link stopped, shaking his head and turning back to his friends who were pushing their way through the snow. He waited, looking around. They were near the cave. He trotted a few paces and sniffed around. The snow storm had piled up snow across the entrance, but Link diligently began to dig.

He uncovered the mouth of the cave and gave a satisfactory growl. Then he focused on the crystal, which was put on a chain and hung around his neck, courtesy of Midna. He gave a vigorous shake, and felt himself change forms.

As he regained his human form, he staggered a bit, winded.

"You alright?"

Link looked up to see Matthew offering him a hand. Link took it and the Hylian King helped him up. "Yeah. I'm just not used to transforming on my own."

"Where to now?" Ashei asked.

"Through here," Link replied, leading the way through the tunnel.

The four of them walked quietly until Colin spoke up. "That was you, wasn't it?" he asked. "Twelve years ago in Ordon? The wolf with the injured paw that Ilia took care of?"

"Yup," Link replied without glancing at him, stopping next to the ladder that led upwards and out. He started the climb, not even bothering to look back at his companions, who followed him. They worked their way silently through the tunnel, coming out into the bright snow once more. An ice-laden tree sat at the summit across a frozen pond. Link went over to the tree and studied it as his friends admired the view. There was very little blowing snow here, so they could see for miles.

"So how do we get to the mansion?" Ashei asked.

Link pointed up to the leaves. "We sled." Ignoring the questioning looks his friends gave him, the Hero rammed his shoulder into the tree trunk four times, knocking down four of the large frozen leaves. "It's easiest to get down this way," Link explained, walking over and picking one of the leaves out of the snow. "Sledding, I mean."

"Awesome!" Colin exclaimed, running to grab one of the leaves. Matthew and Ashei followed suit. Link laid his leaf in the snow and jumped onto it like it was a snowboard. "Follow me," he said as he began to slide down the slope.

Matthew, Colin, and Ashei slid down behind the Hero, snow flying up from their leaves. While Ashei and Matthew were trying to not fall face down in the snow, Colin was laughing out loud, enjoying himself. He would jump up into the air and do spins and tricks as if he had been doing it all his life.

But the fun was over too soon. They arrived at the mansion and their leaves broke on the cleared path. "That was great!" Colin said, breathless from the tricks he had been pulling. Link grinned.

"When this is all over," the Hero said, "you and I can come back here and we'll race the yetis."

"That would be awesome!"

Link grinned at his young friend's enthusiasm.

"So," Ashei said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We've come this far. We just need to find Malo and Dredloc and end this."

"Yeah, but I haven't been any deeper into this mountain range than this," Link replied. He walked forward to the right of the mansion, following the directions his daughter had given him that morning. True to Nellie's words, there was a path leading further down the slope. He could just make out the dungeon a mile or so downward. He picked out a path in the slope. "But I know where to go." With that, he led the group onward down the slippery slope.

It took at least two hours to get down to the bottom. Colin slipped at one point, but Link pulled him up out of the snow. Finally, however, they did reach the bottom. The dungeon ahead loomed black against the pure white of the snow. Link crouched behind a snowdrift, motioning his friends to do the same.

Just as they all hid, the door opened and Malo strode out, the dark cape around his shoulders billowing in the increasing wind. Link grit his teeth in anger, his hand reaching for the Shadow Crystal. Malo was walking in their direction. Link glanced at his companions. "Cover me," he whispered. Matthew, Ashei, and Colin nodded. Link touched the magical stone and transformed, dashing out from behind the snow bank and completely surprising Malo.

The young man tried to run, but the wolf was too fast. Link jumped at him, pinning him down into the snow. His ears were laid back against his head, his lips pulled back in a ferocious snarl, a growl deep in his throat.

"C-call it off! Call it off! Whoever you are just call off your wolf!" Malo shouted, attempting to wriggle free. Link kept him firmly in the snow. He gave a low bark, signaling to the others that it was safe to come out. Malo swore and tried harder to wriggle out of Link's grasp when he saw Matthew.

"I hope you understand why we followed you here," Matthew said.

Mallo stopped moving, glaring up at the King of Hyrule. "I sure do, but there's no way in hell you're getting me to come quietly. Now get your freakin' wolf off me and let me be!"

Link looked up at his friends, a wolfish grin on his furry face.

Ashei spoke up first, interpreting Link's expression. "Oh, he's not anyone's in particular. If you want to put him under ownership, he would be Queen Midna's." Colin chuckled, realizing just what Link wanted to do.

"I hate riddles!" Malo shouted, attempting to get free again. "Goddesses, let me go!"

"No," Matthew said.

Malo scowled and began to rant as he felt the wolf shift his stance. "Look, I didn't come up with it at all! Dredloc forced me to help him out! He's like a freaking tyrant!"

"Cut the crap, Malo."

The voice was none other than Link's. But last time Malo had checked, Link wasn't there. The young man looked up to where he thought the voice was coming from. Where the had once been a wolf, there was now Link, pinning him down in the snow.

"What kind of monster are you?" Malo demanded after a streak of swearing.

"Does it matter?" Link replied. He quickly and deftly tied Malo's hands behind his back and stood, pulling up Malo with him. The young man shook with cold in his damp clothes and with fear prominent in his features.

"What are we going to do with him?" Colin asked in a small voice. Malo shot him a venomous look.

"We could just tie him up and leave him until after we deal with Dredloc," Ashei suggested.

"No!" Malo protested. "That would kill me!"

"It's no more than you deserve," Link said darkly. Then a thought hit him. "Actually, I know just the thing. Instead of us dealing with him, we'll let Midna and Zelda deal out his punishment. No doubt Midna would like to do that. Which would you prefer, Malo? Freezing or facing my wife?"

"Neither."

"I'm afraid that's not a choice. Seeing as you can't pick, I'll pick for you." And with a simple call to that magic Midna had taught him to access, he warped Malo to the Hyrule Castle courtyard.

Silence filled the snow-covered mountain for a moment. "Well," Matthew said. "I guess now's the time to face Dredloc."

"Your darn right it is."

The new voice made all four warriors turn. Dredlock crouched in the snow by the dungeon entrance, a glare in his orange eyes. "And it'll end poorly for you, my friends." He drew a long, curved sword that glimmered with orange Twili patterns. Link drew his sword and held it ready. Matthew, Ashei, and Colin did the same.

"It's a pity you won't see another day," Dredloc said in a low, almost nonchalant voice. "I hope you all said a proper farewell to your families." With a shout, the Twili launched himself from the snow at the four warriors.

* * *

><p>Malo always hated warping. It was one of the few things that always made him feel sick afterward. As soon as his feet touched solid ground, he collapsed onto his knees, trying to fight down the gagging sensation.<p>

It took a moment before he could look around. So that's where Link sent him: right into the clutches of the Twilight Queen herself.

But there was no one around, except for the guards. But none of the guards noticed him. Perhaps he would be able to escape

He struggled to his feet, annoyed at the fact that his hands were still tied. He turned toward the gate, but realized his escape would be futile. A guard was pointing in his direction, several others running toward him. Malo attempted to escape, but with his hands tied, it was awkward. He lost his balance and fell, and the solders were on top of him before he knew it.

The soldiers forced him to his feet. Malo, his weariness from the warping wearing off, looked up as one of the soldiers said "Your Majesty."

The Queen of Hyrule was walking toward him, a hard look in her eyes. She stopped in front of him, and Malo knew that he wasn't going to get out of this easily.

"What shall we do with him, your Majesty?" one soldier asked.

"Take him to the dungeons. We'll decide what to do with him later."

And with that, the soldiers marched Malo forward.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight  
><strong>Ashei was a strong fighter. She had been trained like a boy would be by her father. She had been his only child, and he wanted to pass on his skills as a warrior. Ashei hadn't minded. She enjoyed the fact that she was different from other girls. She prided herself on the fact that she had been crucial in the resistance against Ganondorf and Zant back during the Time of Twilight, unlike the soldiers at the time.

And now she was the only female knight in all of the soldiers of Hyrule. And she knew her father would have been proud if he had been here to see her. But in all her time fighting for a noble cause, she never knew what else drove Link to make him fight as hard as he did, to be like a one man army against the evil of evils. She knew he had a duty as the Hero, but, until he told her that he was fighting for those he loved, she had suspected nothing else.

Now, as she blocked a strike from Dredloc, she truly realized what it meant to fight for loved ones. Sure, she had been involved in the resistance, but she hadn't had any family to speak of who were alive, and she and Shad hadn't even begun to like each other more than friends.

But now she fought for the ones she loved: she fought as a mother and as a wife. She fought to keep her two children safe, to let her husband continue reading those books he so dearly treasured.

Dredloc kicked her legs out from under her and she went down in the snow, her face hitting the soft, powdery fluff. She rolled away from the fight and got to her feet, trying to catch her breath, watching the fight. Matthew and Colin fought with skill, but none of them matched Link's ferocious attacks. The Hero fought like the feral beast he turned into.

Ashei realized now that Link, and only Link, was a proper match for the Twili they fought. At least sword-wise. Dredloc reminded her that he possessed magic as the Twili blasted Colin back. The young man landed in a snow bank next to Ashei, who helped him to his feet.

"This is one tough guy," Colin said breathlessly.

"Indeed," Ashei replied. "But we'll beat him."

Colin gave a nod and dashed back into the fray. Ashei followed him. She swung at Dredloc, but the Twili blocked while aiming a kick at Matthew and ducking a swing from both Link and Colin. Matthew was caught off guard, the kick landing at his stomach. The wind was knocked out of him and he fell to his knees, trying to get his breath back. Dredloc went it for the kill, dodging and blocking strikes from his other opponents.

Ashei's world seemed to slow when she saw what Dredloc was planning on doing. She ran forward, pushing herself to the limit and attempting to block the deadly weapon from her King.

Then things sped back up as she felt the bite of the sword in her side. Snow turned red with her blood. Link and Colin's attacks doubled, and Dredloc was occupied once more.

Matthew got Ashei out of the way of the fight. "Thank you," he said.

"That's the knight's job, yeah? Defending her King."

Matthew nodded but didn't say much as he tore a strip of cloth from his cloak to help bandage Ashei's wound. "We need to get you some real help before you lose too much blood," the King said.

Ashei sighed. "And how are we going to that?" she asked through clenched teeth.

Matthew thought for a brief moment, watching Link and Dredloc go into a contest of strength, their swords locked together and each pushing against the other.

"Link could warp you," he said after a moment. "He did so with Malo."

Ashei nodded, but didn't say anything. Matthew stood, picking up his sword, and went back to the fight, which had gone back to Link and Colin waiting Dredloc's next move. It was as if they were taking a small break to get their breaths back. Matthew stood next to Link. "We need to get her out of here," he said in a quiet voice as he raised his sword, his eyes never leaving Dredloc. Link nodded and took a few steps back, also keeping an eye on the Twili in front of him.

With a quick glance back at Ashei and a call to the magic, Link warped Ashei to Hyrule Castle courtyard, hoping that she would get help right away.

With a wordless shout, Dredloc sprung forward and the fight resumed.

* * *

><p>Midna sat in a chair by her son's bedside. Andrew was sound asleep, but Midna was hopeful. His fever had gone down in the past hour. Perhaps he would be recovering soon.<p>

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and there was a soft tap on the door. Zelda stood at the doorway.

"I have some news," she said softly. Midna nodded and stood. She glanced one last time at her son before following Zelda out of the room. The Queen of Hyrule quickly explained what was going on as the two of the walked along the hallway.

"So we've finally managed to capture Malo," Midna said. "Good."

"That's what I thought," Zelda replied. "Now we just need to take care of Dredloc and we'll have peace."

Peace. That's what everyone needed.

Their feet led them together to the entrance hall of the castle, and Midna looked around like she always did, remembering when she and Link first went through this room, Link swinging from chandelier to chandelier with his clawshots while Midna fretted from his shadow that he would fall and bring the light fixture down with him. Zelda noticed Midna looking around and waited for a moment.

Suddenly, the doors to the throne burst open. A soldier ran into the room. "Your Majesty!" he exclaimed. "Come quickly!"

Zelda didn't wait for an explanation. She and Midna followed the soldier out into the courtyard, and were surprised to see Ashei kneeling on the green grass, her hands pressed to her side.

"We've just sent for the doctor," the knight said as they came nearer.

Zelda nodded. "Send for the historian Shad, as well," she said as Midna knelt down next to Ashei. The knight nodded and hurried off.

"They're all ok," Ashei said, looking up. "But Dredloc's a tough opponent, yeah?" her voice shook, giving away the pain she tried so hard to hide.

"Thank goddesses," Midna muttered. She looked up toward the gate leading out to town, where she saw two guards, the doctor, and Shad hurrying toward them.

Relieved that help had come, Midna looked up at the blue sky. Somewhere, under the same sky, the same sun, was Link. She just hoped he come back soon.

* * *

><p>Clouds rolled over the sky over Snowpeak Mountain, but none of the four combatants noticed, they were so focused on their fight. Link, with a feral look in his blue eyes, dashed at Dredloc, but failed to catch him off guard. Dredloc's black-and-orange sword arched through the air toward Link, and the Hero had to stop his attack in order to block the Twili's.<p>

The two traded blows for a few minutes, while Dredloc attempted and succeeded in blocking Colin's and Matthew's swords. Overwhelmed, Dredloc shouted, and a shock wave of Twili magic went straight for the villain's opponents. Link ducked under it, but Colin and Matthew weren't so lucky. They were hit by the magic and were sent flying onto a snow bank unmoving.

"Now it's just you and me, Hero," Dredloc growled.

"Not for long," Link replied in a low voice. "You're going to pay for all you've done to Hyrule and to the Twilight Realm."

Dredloc gave a low bark of laughter. "Make me!" he shouted. He and Link charged at each other. Their swords locked at the hilt once more.

"With pleasure," Link replied with a growl. He overpowered the Twili and shoved him to the ground, following with an Ending Blow. Dredloc rolled out of the way just in time toward the edge of the cliff that was just a few yards away from the dungeon. He staggered to his feet, breathing heavily. "You can't get rid of me _that_ easily, Link."

Link bared his teeth in a very wolfish fashion in response and charged forward again. He and Dredloc continued to exchange blow after blow, moving closer to the dangerous cliff-side. After several more minutes, Dredloc, now fully enraged, pushed Link to the edge of the cliff, knocking his weapon out of his hands. The glittering sword flew end over end over the cliff and down, banging off exposed rock with a clang.

Link was weaponless. Dredloc taking full advantage of this fact, stabbed forward, a triumphant look on his face.

Link sidestepped just in time, and wrenched the sword from Dredloc's hands, reversing the direction and stabbing Dredloc. The Twili's expression filled with surprised and he took a step backwards.

"It's over, now, Dredloc," Link said blandly.

Dredloc once more gave that nasty triumphant grin. "It ain't over until the fat Twili sings!" he shouted, and shoved Link backwards.

The Hero lost his footing and followed his sword over the edge of the cliff. Dredloc sneered and collapsed, dead. His crimson blood stained the once white snow.

Utter silence covered the area in front of the dungeon. Not even the wind whistled. Then Matthew, who had seen the last bit of the fight, struggled to his feet. He staggered to the edge of the cliff, looking for Link. _What if he warped away to save himself?_ the King wondered. But no, that hadn't been the case, for he spotted the Hero on a snowy ledge twenty feet below, unmoving.

"What happened?" Matthew turned to see Colin getting slowly to his feet. The young knight looked around. "Where's Link?"

"Down there," Matthew replied. Clin joined his King at the cliff-side, giving a startled glance at Dredloc's body.

"We have to get to him," Colin said once he spotted Link.

"But how? There's no ledge or path that goes down there."

"Maybe there's something in the dungeon." Colin hurried off into the snow-covered stone building. It took him only a few minutes before he came back out, carrying a large coil of rope. He tied one end securely to the bars of one of the dungeon windows and then went over to the edge, tossing the free end down. "I'll climb," he said. Matthew nodded mutely and watched the young knight begin carefully scaling the edge of the cliff. It began to snow heavily, blurring Matthew's sight of Colin and Link.

It took Colin ten minutes to reach the ledge Link was on. He knelt down next to Link and shook him. After a few seconds, Link stirred, pushing himself up into a sitting position, slightly dazed. "Is Dredloc..." he began.

"He's dead," Colin finished.

"Where's Matthew?"

Colin pointed upwards. Link looked up and sighed, remembering that he had fallen. He gestured for Matthew to join them. The Hylian King began the long decent downwards.

As soon as he joined Colin and Link on the ledge, Link called upon both his strength and his magic and warped all three of them away.

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: TADA! Another chapter! And I've got good news. I have FINISHED writing this story. The bad news? It's scribbled down in my notebook, not typed up. So, I won't be posting the final two chapters until I get them typed up. So for now, enjoy this chapter and, if your curious, the newest chapter of my other fanfiction <strong>Hero of the Ocarina.<strong>_

_Leave a review?_


	10. Chapter 9

_Author's note: I've been rather busy lately (school, homework, moving onto campus, work, ect), so I haven't gotten the time to sit down and write this chapter up. So, for a long wait, here's a long chapter!_

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine<br>**Beth stared out the window of her bedroom. It was early dawn, and normally she would be asleep. But not this morning. Her worries had kept her up most of the night, and now, after just a couple hours of sleep, she knew she wouldn't be able to doze off again. She was worried for Colin, and for the others on the mission to stop Dredloc as well, but mostly Colin was her concern. She knew her husband fought well – he had been trained by his father, Rusl, in the ways of the sword – but that didn't mean she didn't worry about him, especially when facing such an opponent as Dredloc. She had heard stories about him from Link and, occasionally, Midna, how this Twili was dangerous, yet he had made a costly mistake the first time Link encountered him, resulting in Dredloc's defeat and imprisonment.

Beth sighed and sat up, dangling her bare feet over the edge of the bed. She decided to go for a walk. Walks had always calmed her nerves. She had discovered this when she was just eleven, back during the Time of Twilight. She would walk from one side of Kakariko Village to the other, around the Spirit Spring, and even up a shady path she had watched Link discover with a well-placed bomb. She stood and dressed quickly, heading to the door.

The morning was incredibly beautiful. It was cool, but comfortably so. The sun was just beginning to shine over the horizon, setting the top of the castle glinting and glowing. The morning mist that hung around in the town until mid-morning was beginning to rise from Lake Hylia, shimmering as if it held some exciting secret that it couldn't wait to reveal. The Cuccos were beginning to crow. Beth walked along, breathing in the mist and the cool air, and her thoughts turned once again to Colin. But she didn't focus on her worry for him. Rather, she reminisced all their time together.

She, like Malo and Talo, had never payed much attention to Colin before the Time of Twilight. He was a rule-follower, though he sometimes told on the others if they had done something particularly dangerous. He was a farmer's boy, not really strong or brave. Beth had often joined the others in teasing Colin, though not as harshly as Talo or Malo. Instead she dreamed her dreams of one day getting out of the small, remote Ordon Village and living life in the big city.

But then she had taken to liking Colin more like a true friend, as had Talo, when Colin had done the unthinkable and sacrificed himself to save Beth. He had been hurt, obviously, but Beth had realized that perhaps Colin was braver than she thought. And their friendship grew from that day, eventually blossoming into love.

Several years after Link had married Midna, Colin and Beth had truly fallen in love. But they had been patient. Colin had been in training to be a knight, and his visits to Ordon had not been very frequent. Beth, too, had made the effort to see him, traveling to Castle Town. When they were apart, they missed each other terribly. Finally, Colin had gotten the nerve to propose. And that was that.

Beth recalled that feeling of longing to see him from those days, which, in truth, hadn't been that long ago. It was so similar to what she was feeling right now, magnified by her worry.

_No,_ she reminded herself. _I won't think of that now. I can't._ She cut off the thought as she entered the mostly-empty center square, still shadowed by the building rising around it. Standing next to the fountain was none other than Midna, still as a statue, looking up a the Seal of the Royal Family of Hyrule portrayed beautifully over the glittering water.

Beth stopped in her tracks when she noticed several shining tears slip down the Twilight Queen's cheeks. Slowly, Beth walked up to her. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Midna looked at her, slightly startled out of her thoughts before she nodded. She wiped away her tears, saying, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

Midna nodded once more and sat down at the edge of the fountain, motioning for Beth to join her. The Ordonian complied and sat next to the Twilight Queen. For several moments, they sat silently. Beth trailed her fingers through the glowing water of the fountain before looking up at Midna. "Are you sure you're ok?" she asked once more as Midna rubbed away more tears.

"I'm just worried for Link."

"But he's a Hero," Beth said. "He's good at fighting, at ridding the land of evil."

"There are some things that not even a Hero can survive..." She paused, thinking on what she had just said. "I mean," she continued, "it's not that I don't have faith in Link's skills and all that – I've seen him do incredible things before – but it doesn't stop me from worrying."

Neither spoke for a while. Midna sniffled every now and then, tears still streaming down her face. Then she gave a wry grin. "Here I am, a queen, and I'm crying."

Beth shrugged. "Rulers are people, too. They can cry if they must," she said.

"True. But, you'd be surprised at how many people forget that. They believe that we'll solve any and every problem. But we can't. We try, though."

They sat once more in silence. Midna now was making an effort not to shed anymore tears. Then, she looked up toward the eastern entrance to Castle Town, just as the first people were beginning to emerge from their houses. The Twilight Queen stood, almost expectantly, trying to figure out what she was hearing.

"Hoof beats," Beth said softly.

She was right, of course. The sound of horse hooves beating the pavement at a steady trot steadily got louder and louder.

Midna was the first to see them, recognizing instantly the riders as they trotted around the bend. Beth, who had also been curious about the incoming horses, rose to her feet.

They were back!

Link was the first one to see the two women waiting by the square. Before his horse had even stopped, he leaped off, embracing Midna. For Beth, time slowed as she watched the two kiss passionately, Midna – who was taller than Link – dipping her head to kiss her husband. Then Beth was swept up in Colin's embrace. All around them, the few people who had started their daily routines, paused, slight smiles on some faces, glancing at the reunion in the middle of the square.

Matthew merely grinned and began, with the help of a soldier, leading the horses to the Royal stables.

* * *

><p>Malo squirmed in the grip of the two soldiers who were marching him down one of the many corridors to the throne room, where Malo knew his punishment was to be decided. He knew Dredloc had lost the battle and had been killed. Link, Matthew, and, surprisingly, Colin, had returned early that morning. And now, Malo stood alone, defiant against those who he knew would have no mercy on him.<p>

He and the guards entered the throne room through a side door and stood, waiting to the right of the thrones, about three fourths away from them down the hall. Malo glanced around, his eye landing on the thrones that were beneath a replica of the goddesses surrounding the Triforce. Aside from the three of them, the room was empty. The silence was so thick, it sounded odd when another side door opened. Malo peered around the two guards and saw Malver being escorted into the room by a single guard. The pair stopped next to Malo and his guards. Malo noticed with annoyance that his former employee didn't even bother to look in his direction.

Silence once again filled the room, but only for a few moments until the main doors to the throne room, which had been closed, opened with a rather loud bang. Two soldiers pushed the doors open. Zelda, Matthew, Link, Midna, and ten nobles entered the room. Matthew and Zelda took to the thrones beneath the Triforce symbol and the goddesses; Midna and Link sat in two just as elegant chairs reserved for visiting monarchs; and the nobles stood in a neat line opposite Malo. Together with the nobles, Zelda and Matthew made up what was called the Royal Court, where crimes of great offense or crimes against the Royal Family were discussed and put to an end with as just a punishment as possible.

"Malver of Castle Town: come forward." Zelda's clear voice rang through the hall, signaling the start of the trial. Malver, shaking, was escorted forward by the guard to stand in front of the thrones.

The noble closest to the thrones began reading from an official-looking scroll. "Malver of Castle Town, you are here before their Majesties and this Royal Court for treason against the Crown of Hyrule, crimes against our esteemed allies the Twili – both of which you were forced to commit and therefore will not be held responsible – and also for kidnapping, for which you will be held responsible."

The noble finished and stood quietly. Silence filled the room and Malver was visibly shaking. Then Matthew spoke up. "What price, Malver, do you think you should pay for what you have done?"

Malver bowed his head. "More than just for kidnapping, your Majesty," the shopkeeper replied. "I was apart of the plan, so I deserve to pay the full price: for the kidnapping, the crimes against the Twili," he paused to glance in Midna's direction. "And for the treason."

"It is understood that you were under a blood oath," Zelda said. "Had you not been, what would you have done?"

"Your Majesty, my loyalty has always been and always will be to you and your esteemed husband – to the Royal Family of Hyrule. I want nothing more than to be a loyal subject. Had I not been forced to betray you, your Majesty, by certain people and forbidden to discuss said treason, I would have immediately reported it, and stopped the horrors from happening before they even started."

"A gracious speech, no doubt. But is it a true speech as well?"

"It is, your Majesty."

Zelda smiled softly. "Your heart is in the right place, Malver. You value truth and loyalty over deceit and treason. Therefore," she paused. Malver held his breath, hoping for the best. "We shall be lenient. You shall serve six months of service to the community of Castle Town. You shall be returned to your status at the end of the six months if your actions remain within the law. Does the Royal Court agree?"

Eight out of ten of the nobles on the Royal Court raised their hands in agreement. "Majority rules," Matthew stated. "Any further questions?" There were none, so Malver was dismissed. The shopkeeper bowed and stuttered his thanks before being led out of the room.

"Malo of Ordon: come forward," Zelda announced. Her voice was not as merciful sounding as it had been when she was addressing Malver. Malo was brought forward, flanked by the two guards.

"Malo of Ordon, you are brought before their Majesties and this Royal Court for the following: treason against the Crown of Hyrule, crimes against our esteemed allies the Twili, and kidnapping." The noble paused before adding: "The penalty for treason alone is banishment or death."

The last words rang out through the room.

"You want to get rid of me that bad, eh?" Malo asked with a sneer. He shook his head as if the idea was completely absurd.

"I have a question," Link spoke up for the first time. With a nod from Matthew, Link continued. "Why, Malo? Why did you do it all?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, goat-herder?" Malo sneered. Murmuring of the nobles spread through the room.

"Answer the Hero's question, Malo," Zelda said.

Malo sneered even more. "I don't take orders from self-centered, spoiled noble-men's brats like you, Zelda."

These last words sparked shouting from the nobles and from Matthew and Link. The Hero had jumped to his feet, and was just as furious as the others, perhaps even more so. Midna, growing rather tired of the trial, merely glared with narrowed eyes at Malo, who was smirking triumphantly. Zelda, too, glared, but remained silent, her lips pressed together as if she was trying to prevent herself from joining her husband in yelling at the traitor. Finally, she was through listening to the yelling which didn't seem to be stopping at all. "Quiet!" she shouted. The room went silent. "Be seated, Link," she said in a quieter voice. Link complied, still glaring.

"If you must know," Malo said. "I did it all because I knew that I could rule this country better than either of these so-called monarchs."

Angry muttering sprung up once more, stopped only with a signal from Matthew. "If there are no other questions, we shall proceed," the Hylian King said.

No one spoke, so Matthew continued. "Malo of Ordon, a capital offense – like treason – requires a capital punishment." Malo's smirk faded. "As you are a first-time offender, you shall be banished from Hyrule Kingdom. Your shops shall be confiscated – their names changed – and be put under new management."

"And what of my family?" Malo sneered. "Are you going to tell them your kicking me out of the country?"

"I will personally make sure Pergie and Jaggle know of your treason, Malo," Link said. "And let me tell you, they will be very disappointed in how their son turned out."

Malo looked stunned and hung his head.

"Does the Royal Court agree?" Zelda asked a second time, addressing the question to the nobles.

This time, all ten nobles raised their hands in agreement. "Take him back to the dungeons," Matthew said, "for his last night in Hyrule."

The guards escorted Malo out. The nobles, too, excused themselves, bowed, and left, leaving the four monarchs alone.

* * *

><p>The next day, Link warped to the Ordon Spring. The ankle-deep water lapped peacefully at the white sands of the spring. Fairies floated above the water, sparking and laughing in their chiming voices. For a moment, Link was lost in his memories. It was here, in this spring, where his first adventure began, where he had met the light spirit Ordona – a glowing goat-like spirit that charged him with the duty to save Hyrule. The fairies, too, had a history with the Hero. He had traversed through a deep cavern filled to the brim with monsters, and earned the freedom for the little orbs of light not only here at this spring but at the three other spirit springs as well. He remembered the days when he and his childhood friend Ilia would wash his faithful steed Epona in those years before the Time of Twilight.<p>

"Link?"

Link turned at the sound of his name and smiled. "Hey, Ilia," he greeted walking through the water to greet his friend.

"Hello," Ilia greeted back, noting the black Twili designs on his green tunic and hat. I see you favor black now."

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you're king of shadow people."

Ilia laughed. "So tell me: what are you doing here? You don't normally come without Midna and your kids."

Link sighed. "I'm not here for a... happy visit, if that's what you mean."

"Oh." Ilia's face fell as Link led the way out of the spring. The two friends walked side by side through the forest toward Ordon Village. "What happened?"

"It's a long story. And I'd rather finish what I came here for quickly. Then we can talk about it."

"That's fine. I'll meet you at the spring, then." Link nodded and Ilia left his side, jogging back the way they had come.

As Link entered the village, he noted the changes that had taken place. Once the village had a total of five houses, not counting Link's old house on the outskirts of town. Now, however, that number had tripled. Children had grown up and were starting new families in new homes, and other families had moved into the village. It was a lively little town now with two ranches: one for the goats and one for the tough but gentle Ordon-bred horses. Link walked through the village, waving to his friends and to those who he considered his family. But his destination was solid: he was heading for the larger house across the stream that divided Ordon in two. The house with the water wheel that creaked as it slowly rotated by the stream's movement.

Link crossed the stream and saw Malo's father, Jaggle, in the pumpkin patch, weeding. Holding back a sigh, Link approached the man. "Hello, Jaggle."

The farmer looked up, a grin crossing his face when he saw who it was. "Link, m'boy! How're you?" Jaggle stood, wiping the dirt from his hands.

"Good. And you?"

"Doin' just fine. Just fine, indeed. By the way, you haven't seen Malo up by the castle, have you? Been askin' anyone who's been outside the village recently 'cause the boy's never gone this long without a letter to us."

Link hesitated. At least they knew something was going on. "I've come to tell you about him actually."

Jaggle's expression fell. "He ain't dead, is he?" The man's voice was filled with worry.

"No. Far from it."

"Oh. Well, give me a moment to fetch the wife and you can tell us." Link nodded mutely, watching Jaggle move toward the open door of his house. "Pergie?" he called. "Come out here for a second, will you?"

Malo's mother did so, and, after greeting Link, the three of them sat down at the picnic table that was next to the pumpkin patch. After some hesitation, Link told the story in the shortest version he could, unable to look at Jaggle's and Pergie's shocked expressions the further he got into the story. And when he finished, both Pergie and Jaggle were silent. But only for a moment.

"I thought we raised him better than that!" Pergie said disbelievingly, her voice shaking with tears. She buried her face in her hands, shaking with silent sobs.

"I thought so, too," Jaggle replied. "But he chose this path. It has nothing to do with how we raised him." But Pergie continued to sob. Jaggle sighed sadly, focusing his attention on Link. "We won't take up any more of your time, Link. Thanks for comin' by and tellin' us."

"Of course." Link stood and said a quick goodbye before heading back through the village.

When he arrived at the spirit spring, Ilia looked up at him from where she was sitting on the soft, white sand. Link sat next to her with a sigh.

"Start at the beginning, Link," she said teasingly. "That's always the best place to begin."

* * *

><p>"Is this your house, Timothy?" Midna asked the six-year-old Twili in the language of the Twili. She and Link had been escorting the younger and ill Twili children to their homes all afternoon, since they returned from Hyrule. This boy, Timothy, was the last. He had not be hit too hard by the trek in the snow, but he was a very shy child, refusing to speak Hylian – which most of the Palace Village knew fluently – and even barely replied to the Twili language: Soolsetur.<p>

The boy looked around, a small smile lighting up his face. He ran toward the front door of the house they had stopped oat and opened it, calling for his parents. Another reunion was underway.

"There is nothing better than seeing a child reunited with his parents," Link said, smiling as he and Midna began walking back up the street toward the Palace of Twilight.

"Indeed," Midna agreed softly.

"Your Majesties! Wait!"

Link and Midna turned and saw a young woman hurrying toward them from Timothy's house, the six-year-old following her. She bowed, her long, pale-red hair falling in front of her shoulder. "Your Majesties, thank you so much for bringing my son home. I was so worried about him."

Timothy, who had hidden behind his mother's skirts, now emerged, looking up at Midna and Link with a small smile, and in Hylian he spoke two words that brought tears of joy to Midna's eyes: "Thank you."

Even half an hour later, Midna was still thinking on the sweet and sincere expression of the child's face. Intertwining her hand with her husband's, the Twilight Queen spoke. "We did a good thing, Link," she said as they came upon Marietta's house where Nellie and Andrew were waiting with their grandmother.

"Yes," Link replied happily. "We did."

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: So, now what? The children are saved and back home, Malo's got what he deserves and Dredloc's dead. I'll tell you: epilogue time! I've finished writing it up so I'll either post that later today, or tomorrow. Look forward to it!<em>


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue  
><strong>Months later, Link, too, would look back on that moment, smiling every time he pictured the gratefulness of Timothy and his mother, and of all the parents and children who had come up to him and Midna that day and days after to thank them.

Link was once more contemplating this thought one evening as he entered the room he shared with Midna, only to be greeted by his third child's crying. Midna was holding the two-month-old, trying to get him to calm down and eventually fall asleep.

The child, who they named Nico, had been born almost two months early due to the incident with Dredloc. The doctors who had been tending to Midna and the new-born had said that the child had been injured in the conflict, but because Midna had taken the red potion so soon afterward, she had also saved the life of her unborn son. Even now, Midna expressed concern that the child would get sick and be too weak to make it to his first birthday. But so far, Nico's only problem was getting to sleep. It was a challenge every night to make him go to bed.

Without a word, Midna passed Nico to Link, who seemed to get the child to sleep faster than Midna could. "What are you crying about, huh?" Link asked of the two-month-old. "There's no reason to cry."

"He thinks there is," Midna commented dryly as she sat down on the bed. She watched her husband and son as she scooped up her long red hair into a ponytail.

Link laughed at Midna's comment and continued to rock his son in his arms. Soon, Nico's cries were reduced to whimpers. Link looked down at the child in his arms. Of all his three children, Nico was the only one to inherit Midna's crimson eyes. He had pale red – almost blond – hair that seemed to contrast nicely with his eyes.

Link sat down next to Midna on the bed, still cradling Nico. "Hush, my son," he said, "and I will tell you stories of a noble yet humble Hero and his loving companion.

"You? Humble?" Midna laughed. "Never."

"I try to be," Link replied, pretending to look offended. Midna's reply was cut off by a small knock on the door. "Yes?" Link called. The door opened and Andrew peered in.

"I can't sleep," he said.

Nellie appeared behind her brother. "Neither can I," she added.

"Come," Midna said, motioning to her children. "Your father will tell you a story."

"What do you want to hear?" Link asked as Nellie and Andrew joined their parents on the bed.

"A story about the Hero of Twilight," Nellie said immediately. Link grinned. His children knew his adventures well from the many times he had told them, but they didn't know that the valiant Hero was their father. What they did know was minor details of how their parents met at the beginning of the quest and that their father could, through the power of the Twilight, change forms to be a wolf.

"How about when the Hero battled that huuuuuuuuge fish?" Andrew suggested excitedly. He hung on every word of the stories.

"Or," Nellie suggested, "the time he fought that bad guy with the funny name from the desert?"

"Oh, yeah! That one!"

Link nodded and passed Nico back to Midna and began the story, his children held in rapt attention. But by the time he had finished, Nellie, Andrew, and Nico had fallen asleep. Link stopped, a slight smile on his face. Midna carefully stood and placed Nico in his crib before fetching two extra blankets to put over Andrew and Nellie. As she got back in bed, she spoke softly. "Tell me, what became of the Hero and his companion?"

"Well," Link began, leaning over to blow out the candle on the nightstand. The room was plunged into the semi-darkness of the Dark Twilight. He settled down before continuing. "The Hero courageously fought on in his one-on-one battle with the evil man. Finally, he defeated the villain, and as he did so, the curse on his companion was broken and she became the beautiful, elegant, and graceful Twilight Princess she had always been."

"And?"

"And after a few more crazy adventures, the Hero and the Princess were married, settled down in the strange yet beautiful world of the Twili, and lived happily ever after with their three wonderful children."

"Hmmm. I like the sound of that: happily ever after."

They were quiet for a moment. "Well, good night, my dear Midna."

Midna laughed softly. "You crazy light-dweller, we don't have nighttime here."

"Still. Good night, anyway." He leaned over to kiss her.

Midna smiled softly. "Good night." She paused. "_My _crazy light-dweller."

* * *

><p><em>Author's note: There you have it! Stolen is finally finished! Just a quick thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and read this story. I hope you all enjoyed it!<em>

_As for my future Zelda stories, I'm going to be finishing up Hero of the Ocarina, and posting a Spirit Tracks fanfiction that I finished some time ago. So please, look forward to those._

_Once again, I hope you enjoyed this story!_

**_Gracias! Arigatou! Thank you!_**

**_~TwiliRupee_**


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